Exile, Scholarship, and Memory: Pushkin in Moldova between Cultural History and Politics
Exile, Scholarship, and Memory: Pushkin in Moldova between Cultural History and Politics

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes more than two centuries of academic, public, and political afterlives of a brief but significant episode in Moldovan history. These are the three years in the early nineteenth century associated with Alexander Pushkin’s stay in the region. Exiled from the imperial capital of St. Petersburg to a territory annexed by the Russian Empire only eight years prior, the young poet produced an important body of work during this period. As political regimes in the region changed, the study of Pushkin and interpretations of his exile have gained various political meanings, ranging from oblivion to admiration or sharp condemnation. The article traces the local intellectual tradition of studying Pushkin and his public image as subjects of political instrumentalization. It argues that although each of these spheres has made an independent contribution to the development of the topic, only looking at their overlap allows one to grasp the full complexity of the “Pushkin phenomenon” in Moldova.

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