Alexey Achair, “Cossacks” (1927)
The article precedes the republishing of the poem of the Harbin poet Alexei Achair (Gryzov;
1896–1960) “Cossacks”, completed by the author at the end of 1927. It was published twice
in 1929 in hard-to-reach publications for the modern reader: in two issues of the collection
“Free Siberia” (Prague) and in the newspaper “Russian Word” (Harbin). The forgotten poem
deserves attention as a case of early imitation of Marina Tsvetaeva’s poems, primarily the
Pied Piper, and also as a detailed essay reflecting the regional mentality of the “storm and onslaught” period of the “Young Churaevka” circle. In addition, this is the largest in volume and
the most significant in scale work of Air, the only poem published during his lifetime. Achair
reproduced the characteristic techniques of Tsvetaeva’s “big form” poetics and tried to put
them at the service of the propaganda of Siberian regionalism. Along with Tsvetaeva, who determined the artistic structure of the poem, echoes of Soviet poetry (Khlebnikov,
Mayakovsky, Selvinsky) are also heard, which makes the overall impression of the poem mosaic.
Achair. Pervaya: Kniga stikhov [The First: The Book of Poems]. Harbin, Sodruzhestvo poetov “Meditat”, Tipografiya “Slovo”, 1925, 72 p. (in Russ.)
Achair A. Kazaki. In: Vol’naya Sibir’ [Free Siberia]. Ed. by I. A. Yakushev. Praga,
Obshchestvo sibiryakov v ChSR [Praha, Spolek Sibiřanů v ČSR], 1929, iss. V,
Obshchestvenno-literaturny i ekonomicheskiy sbornik (Veřeyný, literárni a hospodářský
sbornik), p. 14–23; iss. VI–VII, Literaturno-obshchestvenny i ekonomicheskiy sbornik
(Literárni, veřeyný a hospodářský sbornik), p. 29–39. (in Russ.)
Achair A. Tropy: Stikhi [Paths]. Harbin, Plotnikov, 1939, 62 p. (in Russ.)
Achair A. A. Stikhotvoreniya [Poems]. In 2 vols. [Comp. by Yu. A. Tarala]. San
Francisco, Muzey russkoy kul’tury, 2004, vol. 1, 199 p.; vol. 2, 142 p. (in Russ.)
Achair A. Mne kto-to beskonechno dorog...: Stikhotvoreniya [Someone is infinitely
dear to me...: Poems]. Comp. by Yu. A. Tarala; intr. by E. Taskina. Moscow, Yanus-K,
2009, 428 p. (in Russ.)
Achair A. Doroga k domu: Stikhotvoreniya, pis’ma, dokumenty [The road to home:
Poems, letters, documents]. Comp. and intr. by A. A. Gorshenin, ed. by N. I. Levchenko. Novosibirsk, Novosibirskiy miniatyurist, 2013, 332 p. (in Russ.)
Achair A. A. Boris Savinkov: Poema. Intr. by V. A. Rosov. Sibirskie ogni [Siberian
Lights], 2013, no. 10, p. 124–132. (in Russ.)
[Anonimous] Pechat’. Vozrozhdenie [The Renaissance] (Paris), 1930, vol. 6, no. 2024,
Dec. 17, p. 3. (in Russ.)
Balakirev M. A. Sbornik russkikh narodnykh pesen [Collection of Russian folk
songs], sostavlenny M. Balakirevym, s notami. Leipzig, Izdanie M. P. Belyaeva, 1895,
81 p. (in Russ.)
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Fomintsyn A. S. Skomorokhi na Rusi [Jesters in Russia]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiya
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Khronika literaturnoy zhizni russkogo zarubezh’ya: Harbin i Kitay (1918–1945).
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Alexey Achair, “Cossacks” (1927) // Сюжетология и сюжетография. 2021. № 1. Pp. 281–337. DOI: 10.25205/2410-7883-2021-1-281-337.