Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature 1607-6192 2713-2226 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2025-24-753-770 Research Article Articles M. SOKOVNIN’S POEM FROM RUSSIAN CHRONICLES: THE PLOT AND THE “ENIGMATIC EPISODE” Kovaleva Tatiana I. old-rus@imli.ru Loshchilov Igor E. old-rus@imli.ru 2025 24 753 770 Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The article analyzes the poem by the poet Mikhail Sokovnin (1938–1975) From Russian Chronicles (before 1964). In form, it goes back to the literary fairy tales of A.S. Pushkin and P.P. Ershov known to the reader since childhood, but it contains spectacular deviations from the canon set by the classics and readers’ rhythmic expectations. The main attention in the article is paid to the “deciphering” of the “enigmatic episode,” at the first reading of which the connections between a character with a name hidden by a rude nickname and various episodes of the Russian Primary Chronicle remain unclear. The кеу structural element that “formats” all the events of the poem and defines its concept is the ring composition. Its marker and the starting point of the main event, the campaign against the Polovtsians, known for the tragic consequences led by Prince Igor, is a stylistic reference to the significant etiquette moment of The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, described by the military formula “to enter the stirrup” (i.e. to begin the campaign). The ring composition “frames” two more events: Svyatoslav’s “golden word” and “a conversation” in the steppe with the participation of an unnamed character. His name (Oleg Svyatoslavich) helps to “solve” the phonetic association of the word “holy” with the names of the princes from the Olgovich family: Igor Svyatoslavich, who led the campaign, and Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, who addressed the princes with a “golden word.” The theme of internecine wars associated with the name of Oleg Svyatoslavich allows us to connect the other events of the poem. A fundamentally important moment in it is the destruction of the etiquette situation described by the formula “to enter the stirrup.” The poet working in the literary paradigm of the 20th century plays a specific game, “pulling” the hero’s leg out of the stirrup and seems “cancelling” the campaign ended in tragedy. Thus, the importance of this situation is emphasized for the concept of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” which could not have been without the decisive act of Prince Igor. The apparent simplicity of Sokovnin’s “Old Russian” poem hides a complex intellectual construction-а concept is fundamentally open to interpretations and explanations. 1. Eleonskaia, S. “‛Slovo o polku Igoreve’ v sovetskoi shkole (iz istorii izucheniia)” [“‛The Tale of Igor’s Campaign’ in the Soviet School (from the History of Study)”]. “Slovo o polku Igoreve”: Kompleksnye issledovaniia [“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: Comprehensive Studies], ed. A.N. Robinson. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1988, pp. 416–428. (In Russian) 2. Demkova, S. “Problemy izucheniia ‛Slova o polku Igoreve’.” [“Problems of Studying ‛The Tale of Igor’s Campaign’.”]. Chteniia po drevnerusskoi literature: (Tsikl lektsii) [Readings on Old Russian Literature: (Lecture Series)]. Erevan, Erevan University Publ., 1980, pp. 58–107. (In Russian) 3. Zykova, V., and E.N. Penskaia. “‛Predmetniki’ M.E. Sokovnina kak poeticheskie travelogi” [“‛Subjecters’ by M. E. Sokovnin as Poetic Travelogues”]. Russkii travelog XVIII–XX vekov: marshruty, toposy, zhanry i narrativy: Kollektivnaia monografiia [Russian Travelogue of the 18th–20th Centuries: Routes, Topoi, Genres, and Narratives: Collective Monograph]. Novosibirsk, NGPU Publ., 2016, pp. 422–461. (In Russian) 4. Zykova, V. “Vsevolod Nekrasov o Koz’me Prutkove i Aleksee Konstantinoviche Tolstom” [“Vsevolod Nekrasov about Kozma Prutkov and Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy”]. Stephanos (Moscow), no. 6 (26), 2017, pp. 168–174. (In Russian) 5. Likhachev, S. “Istoricheskii i politicheskii krugozor avtora ‛Slova o polku Igoreve’.” [“Historical and Political Outlook of the Author of ‛The Tale of Igor’s Campaign’.”]. Slovo o polku Igoreve: Sbornik issledovanij i statey [“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: Collection of Studies and Articles], ed. V.P. Adrianova-Peretts. Moscow, Leningrad, AS USSR Publ., 1950, pp. 5–52. (In Russian)