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"Valerik" () is a war poem published in 1843 by the Russian Romantic writer 
The Battle of the Valerik River was fought on July 11, 1840, between the
After the battle, Lermontov struggled to find a way to express his experience. His own feelings about combat were mixed - he wrote in a letter that he had developed "a taste for war" as a gamble with death and with breezy sarcasm described "the ravine where this fun took place", but the poem he wrote ultimately viewed war as a senseless slaughter, and he and the fighters (on both sides) as "beasts" violating the beautiful world of his beloved pristine Caucasus
Although the poem contains battle scenes both stirring and grisly (which correlate in great detail to the official action report), it ends on a pensive note as the protagonist sits on a drum after the battle:
"Valerik" was first published (with omissions) posthumously in 1843 in the anthology ''Dawn''.
Valerik poem (not full) reading
(video)
Brief description and analysis of Lermontov's poem ''Valerik''
{{Mikhail Lermontov Poetry by Mikhail Lermontov 1843 poems
Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romanticism, Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called ...
.
The battle
The Battle of the Valerik River was fought on July 11, 1840, between the Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
and Chechen and Ingush mountain tribesmen, as part of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus
The Russian conquest of the Caucasus mainly occurred between 1800 and 1864. The Russian Empire sought to control the region between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. South of the mountains was the territory that is modern Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georg ...
.
Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romanticism, Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called ...
, a lieutenant in the Tenginsky Regiment, showed exemplary valor in the battle. Eyewitness accounts describe him astride a white horse, leading his men into battle with reckless abandon. The official battle report stated:
For this, Lermontov was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir
The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'.
Grades
The order had four ...
Fourth Class, but he never received the award as his name was removed from the final list of recipients by Czar Nicholas I
Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1825 to 1855. He was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Al ...
, who harbored a strong dislike for the contumacious poet.
The poem
After the battle, Lermontov struggled to find a way to express his experience. His own feelings about combat were mixed - he wrote in a letter that he had developed "a taste for war" as a gamble with death and with breezy sarcasm described "the ravine where this fun took place", but the poem he wrote ultimately viewed war as a senseless slaughter, and he and the fighters (on both sides) as "beasts" violating the beautiful world of his beloved pristine Caucasus
Although the poem contains battle scenes both stirring and grisly (which correlate in great detail to the official action report), it ends on a pensive note as the protagonist sits on a drum after the battle:
"Valerik" was first published (with omissions) posthumously in 1843 in the anthology ''Dawn''.
References
Further reading
* An analysis of "Valerik" is found inExternal links
Valerik poem (not full) reading
(video)
Brief description and analysis of Lermontov's poem ''Valerik''
{{Mikhail Lermontov Poetry by Mikhail Lermontov 1843 poems