Commentary on Brodsky's Poem " On the Independence of Ukraine"

This paper provides a historical and philological commentary on Brodsky's poem "On the independence of Ukraine". The main goal of the study is to show that this work is not a lyrical poem, but a small dramatic piece, and therefore, when we read it, we hear not the voice of the author or the lyrical hero, but many different voices: a modern Swede, rethinking the lessons of the Poltava battle, a Russian intellectual ironically engaged in the same contemplation, and various kinds of Russian imperialism supporters. Brodsky shows us not his own attitude towards the independence of Ukraine, but rather a cross-section of the Russian and partly even Swedish society of his time. The proposed paper can serve as the beginning of an academic discussion about the imperial component in Russian literature, and more broadly, about the role of empire in Russian culture.