The Problem of Choosing a Source for the Reconstruction and Publication of M. Yu. Lermontov’s Poems of 1840

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This work was carried out with financial support of the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 24-28-00207 “The Lyrics of M. Yu. Lermontov in 1840: Textual Criticism, Axiology, Poetics.”
For citation:
Kiseleva, I. A. “The Problem of Choosing a Source for the Reconstruction and Publication of M. Yu. Lermontov’s Poems of 1840.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 7, no. 4, 2025, pp. 352–373. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2025-7-4-352-373
Abstract:
The article raises the question of choosing a source for the publication of M. Yu. Lermontov’s 1840 poems. The research highlights discrepancies between the text of these sources and the poems’ publication in scientific journals. It discusses the priority of the first collection of Lermontov’s poems over an autograph and a lifetime magazine publication. Preference is given to the text of the autograph; the manuscript most fully expresses the intonation and the semantic content. Special attention is paid to criticism of editorial conjunctures in Lermontov’s poems “How Often Surrounded by a Motley Crowd...”, “On Secular Chains...”, “Gratitude”, “There Are Speeches — Meaning...”. The article demonstrates the need to revise the established tradition in its publication. The principle of text’s authenticity is substantiated, which can be adjusted by the principle of grammatical correctness.
Keywords: authentic text, intonation-semantic whole, M. Yu. Lermontov, autograph, poems.
Author: Irina A. Kiseleva
Information about the author:
Irina A. Kiseleva, DSc in Philology, Professor, State University of Education, Friedrich Engels St., 21 a, 105005 Moscow, Russia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9629-0035

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received: August 11, 2025
Approved after reviewing: October 23, 2025
Published: December 25, 2025
Issue: 2025 Volume 7 No. 4
Department: Textual Criticism. Source Study
Pages: 352-373
DOI: Visit Website
EDN:
https://elibrary.ru/OWWPBV
UDK: 821.161.1.09"19"
Publication Type: Research Article

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