Talk:Taras Bulba

Dating?
Can anyone supply dating for the story of Taras Bulba? In other words, when is the action set? Gogol doesn't say, and I haven't been able to figure this one out. (But then, my knowledge of the history of that time and place is VERY bad.) With the major motion picture coming out later this year, I'm guessing people will be coming here to get additional information. User:Wes Clark 19 Feb 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.207.242.4 (talk) 13:27, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Anytime from late XV century to early XVII :) and not a particular date - this novel is deliberately anachronistic 195.218.211.18 (talk) 04:30, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Isn't it between 1657 and 1686, during "The Ruin"? Ukrain--94.226.48.10 (talk) 08:33, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

In fact, Gogol makes reference to "that era .... the cruel 15th century". (ch.1) It is also clear that the action is set prior to Russian unification under the czar (Ivan IV, 1547). Finally, one of the older Cossacks is described as a veteran of the Siege of Adrianople (1365). (ch.7) All these clues point to the late 1300s or early 1400s, but the precise date is nowhere explicit.

See / hear
The article mentions that During the execution, Ostap...calls out to his father, asking if he "can see this?". I recall (from reading the English version in about 1975) that Ostap asks his father if he can hear what is going on. I have one copy in Russian, which reads: - Батько! где ты! Слышишь ли ты? - Слышу! The direct translation to "hear" seems more appropriate.Mike Shepherd 21:19, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:NikolaiGogol TarasBulba.jpg
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Another ballet was written about Taras Bulba
The German/Russian composer Reinholt Gliere also wrote a ballet titled "Taras Bulba" but it is less well known than the Janacek.

65.190.4.236 20:33, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

If this is relevant and accurate then it belongs on the article page (not on this "Talk" page).Mike Shepherd 13:14, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Section removed entirely, incl. 7 book refs

 * Hard to say, what feels even more surprising: that, or the edit summary: "The rant not directly connected to Taras Bulba" The book wasn't written in a vacuum, Alex, that's why some background was important. Any thoughts from the community? — Qarabaş (talk) 00:04, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

Anti-Polish sentiment in the context of November Uprising
Poland lost its last vestiges of independence in 1795 and remained partitioned for 123 years by the Russian Empire, Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Monarchy. Following the November Uprising – an armed rebellion against the Russian imperial rule – the Poles became the subject of an official campaign of discrimination by the authorities. "Practically all of the Russian government, bureaucracy, and society were united in one outburst against the Poles" – wrote Russian historian Liudmila Gatagova. It was in this particular context, that many Russian writers including Gogol, began to accuse the Polish nation of betraying their "Slavic family". The Tsarist anti-Polish campaign, which included confiscation of property, executions, and mass deportations of Poles to Katorga camps, was accompanied by the propaganda scheme directed toward the gaining of public support. "Rumor mongers informed the population about an order that had supposedly been given to kill [...] and take away their land." Polish schools and universities were being closed in a stepped up campaign of Russification. In addition, Nicholas I established an occupation army at Poland's expense.

Hostility toward the Poles became prominent in many of Russia's literary works and media of the time, especially with the emergence of the Panslavist ideology. Even prominent Russian writers started to voluntarily participate in the anti-Polish propaganda effort, which intensified with the publication of Taras Bulba, only four years after the suppressed Polish uprising. According to sociologist and historian Vilho Harle, inadvertently, Gogol's accomplishment became "an anti-Polish novel of high literary merit, to say nothing about lesser writers."


 * I have restored the part relevant to Taras Bulba. The long unrelated text probably belongs to Anti-Polish sentiment or November Uprising but not here. Alex Bakharev (talk) 01:06, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

Xenophobia section
This section is a mess. Since, I did not do the research that built this section, I'm not sure of even where to begin to clean it up. The first paragraph contains a quote that never closes, and puts quotation marks around the title of a novel, which does not need to be named since that's what the entire article is about.

The second paragraph appears to be a copy and paste of someone's high school term paper (note the MLA parenthetical citations). Furthermore, the contents of the paragraph seem to relate to Gogol's works as a whole, rather than specifically on Tara Bulba. Also, I can only assume it is not meant to be in the box.

In my humble opinion, this section needs deletion or expansion. Regardless, it needs to be cleaned up. Ideas?--Brendanmccabe (talk) 16:14, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

SubCulture Books Link
In External Links, the Subculture Books link just leads to a URL squatter page. I presume something more meaningful was originally linked to. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.149.72.159 (talk) 06:13, 11 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I've deleted the obsolete link. Närking (talk) 18:32, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

Film
1962 film, starring Tony Curtis and Yul Brynner: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056556/

Gogol - Ukrainian or Russian?
I think Gogol, a Ukrainian of the 19th century Russia, wrote this story in support of and to explain Ukraine's decision to join Russia in the 17th century.

Ukraine's Slav and Cossack population had lived under a long series of occupations, first under the Tatars, then the Lithuanians, finally the Poles came in the 15th century. It is true that it was only with the Don Cossacks' help that the Poles were able to fend off the Turks. But the Poles began to lean heavily on the Ukrainians and the Ukrainians began to look for help. The Cossack hetman had been negotiating with the sultan, the tsar, even the tarars. The Ukrainians were Oxthodox Christians and they preferred their fellow religionists the Russians. But Russia was not very interested in having Ukraine because it did not want to go to war with Poland. The hetman then threatened to join the Turks. The Russian Church and the boyars finally persuaded the tsar to accept Ukraine's appeal for help and annexed it.

I wonder if the Ukrainians regreted their decision later. Maybe that's why many Ukrainias insist they are not Russians and proclaim that Gogol was not a Russian but a Ukrainian.VimalaNowlis (talk) 20:39, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

"Depiction of the Jews"
My jaw dropped when I read the Wikipedia author's statement that "... in Taras Bulba, as in Gogol's work generally, his treatment of the Jews is realistic and sometimes sympathetic ..." Gogol was writing at a time when antisemitism was common and perfectly respectable, even among educated European society. Still, I can't recall reading any piece quite as bigoted by another major author as Gogol's Taras Bulba. I read the book back in 1992, so it is not fresh in my mind, but the notes I made at the time included "Jews are portrayed as filthy, avaricious to the point of recklessness, obsequious, weak, clever, and insidious - not to mention physically ugly - skinny with long legs, short bodies, freckles, and protruding lips. Gogol actually seems to endorse their destruction and to romanticize the organized barbarity of the Cossacks."

Gogol's depiction of the Cossack view of the Jews may be an accurate portrayal of the views of many non-Jews at that time. Whether it's a "realistic and sometimes sympathetic" portrayal of Jews, or of Poles, is another matter.

There was a Cossack and Ukrainian revolt against Poland beginning in 1648 in which it is thought that 90,000 Jews died in the revolt and its immediate aftermath. I don't recall Gogol placing his story in a specific year, but the events may well have been in early or mid 17th century. For a different novelistic view of the pogroms of 1648 and their aftermath, written from the point of view of the Jews, see I.B. Singer's novels of that period. Is it fair to judge people of different times and cultures by our contemporary standards? I don't think it is. Racism, sexism, antisemitism, religious bigotry, homophobia, were respectable and taken for granted in past times and I have no doubt that some of the practices that we currently take for granted will seem equally barbaric two centuries from now. But I think that the article section on "Depiction of the Jews" is factually inaccurate in its depiction of the content of Taras Bulba. I don't think that Gogol's portrayal of the Jews was either realistic or sympathetic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alan Meyer (talk • contribs) 20:14, 10 June 2015 (UTC)

About the two versions
The article claims: ''The original 1835 edition reflects the Ukrainian context of the story. In response to critics who called his The Government Inspector "anti-Russian", and under pressure from the Russian government that considered Taras Bulba too Ukrainian, Gogol decided to revise the book'' That is sheer nonsense, since the word 'anti-Russian' was not in use in Gogol's time. Nor is there any first-hand evidence that the novel had been seen as pro- (or anti-) Ukrainian in Gogol's lifetime. I am perfectly sympathetic with Ukrainians and their patriotism, but unreliable media sources should not be used. (I am a former student of Yury Mann who is the most prominent scholar in the field of Gogolian studies). Gogol's revision of the story almost certainly reflects his overall drift to conservatism and monarchism, which is a well-known fact of his biography.176.15.77.168 (talk) 12:17, 24 April 2016 (UTC)

translation?
The use or absence of definite/indefinite articles and some funky wording suggests this is a translation. Take the source to somebody who knows English better and rewrite it. 100.15.127.77 (talk) 16:19, 29 August 2016 (UTC)

Taras Bulba and Ernest Hemingway
My copy of the book cites Ernest Hemingway acclaiming Taras Bulba as "One of the 10 greatest books of all time." Surely worth mentioning in the main article ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.147.191.249 (talk) 10:54, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

"Abridged"?
CURRENT VERSION: "Initially published in 1835 as part of a collection of stories, it was much more abridged and evinced some differences in the storyline compared with the better known 1842 edition" OBJECTION: It was expanded. The original is not an "abridgement". We can do better. Wikidgood (talk) 11:57, 29 March 2022 (UTC)