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On Political Animals: Representing Dogs in Modern Russian Culture

par Ioffe, Dennis
Référence Australian Slavonic and East European studies, 30, 1-2, page (187-194)
Publication Publié, 2016

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

Dogs occupy a curiously important place in Russian and Slavic cultural history. Their role is evident in their use for military purposes during the reign of Ivan Grozny and later periods. I recall a remarkable episode which involves dogs in the anecdotal political history of the Bolshevik party. It relates to a story from 1914 when Stalin and Yakov Sverdlov shared a tiny apartment while in exile in a remote village on the Yenisei river. According to Nikita Khrushchev, Stalin called his dog “Yashka” after the first name of Sverdlov, and he did it in order to humiliate Sverdlov. Stalin had a habit of offering his soupplates to Yashka for licking as an alternative to washing dishes. Sverdlov disliked this offensive association with a stray dog. He also, most likely, perceived it as a joke with anti-Jewish connotations. This dog matter was never peacefully resolved between the two and they remained enemies for the rest of their lives. This unique syncretism between an image of a dog and that of a human is observable in Russian culture and art.