Our Notes & References

Samizdat version of this satirical anti-Soviet take on the famous opening verses of Pushkin’s ‘Ruslan and Ludmila’ – this particular example mentioning Stalin.

The short text parodies the celebrated beginning of ‘Ruslan and Ludmilla’, incorporating satirical comments on the Soviet regime. Among other terrors, the verses mention “The Russian spirit exiled to Solovki”, “Promstroy disposed of Baba Yaga’s mortar” and “Mermaid was left without passport”…

It seems that first variants of this dangerous parody originated as early as 1935. Our version mentions Stalin by name, making it possibly an early variant created and typed during Stalin’s lifetime, prior to 1953. These satirical verses became popular and part of Russian folklore in the 1990s.

The leaf comes from a Russian who lived and worked in Argentina and was much in contact there with the early Russian émigré community, formed after the Revolution. In the opinion of the previous owner, it was typed in pre-WWII Argentina; minor grammar mistakes might support this possibility.