Nikolaï Kliouev et les Scythes : la révélation d’un poète « populaire »

Nikolai Klyuev and the Scythians : The Revelation of a “ Popular” poet. Nikolai Klyuev’s implication in the revolutionary events of 1905 led him to build strong personal and editorial ties with populist intellectual leaders, such as r. V. Ivanov-Razumnik, whose interest in folk culture led him to appreciate the poet’s work throughout the 1910s. When Razumnik initiated, on the eve of 1917, a literary and ideological movement that exploited the mythical figure of the Scythians in order to express the spiritual content of the Revolution, it seemed especially apt that he include in his editorial project Nikolai Klyuev and other “ peasant” poets. For this group of writers and intellectuals, the forthcoming historical events symbolised the ultimate confrontation between western civilisation and eastern barbarism.. Not only did Klyuev’s idea of a peasant revolution find a distinct echo in the Scythians’ programme, but their connection ran deeper, as the poet explored oriental motifs in his work. Finally, this editorial collaboration allow ed Klyuev to reinvent his own status within the literary establishment, since it gave a new meaning to the very concept of authenticity, and saw him emerge as the one and only “ popular poet”.