“The History of the Village of Goriukhino” by Alexander Pushkin - A Short Story - 1830- - - from Peter The Great’s African - Experiments in Prose - published by The NYRB, forthcoming 2022- translations by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler

“The History of the Village of Goriukhino” by Alexander Pushkin - A Short Story - 1830- translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler - 2022 - from Peter The Great’s African - Experiments in Prose - published by The NYRB, forthcoming 2022- translations by Robert and Elizabeth  Chandler

Alexander Pushkin

Born: May 26, 1799, Moscow, Russia

Died: January 29, 1837, Saint Petersburg, Russia

The History of the Village of Goriukhino is narrated by Belkin, an imaginary figure.  Like Pushkin,he was from a minor Noble Family.  In the Afterword Robert Chandler says it can be seen as Pushkin parodying Russian historians of early 19th century.

In twenty pages Belkin traces the history of a rural community.  The residents are mostly surfs, as time goes on they go from being fairly free and prosperous to tighly ruled and heavily taxed as an outsider buys the village. Any one who objects finds himself drafted into the Russian army.  Much of Belkin’s alleged data comes from records he accidently acquires.

I found “The History of the Village of Goriukhino” a very entertaining story.

The collection also contains an uncompleted novel, Peter the Great’s African, as well as two fairly long Short Stories.  The Afterword is highly informative.

This work is a very valuable edition to English translations of Pushkin.

Mel Ulm