Poltava

Three songs about how the godfather shouldn’t develop a romance with his goddaughter until it turns into a scandal. How would you feel about it if the child suddenly gets courted by the godfather? As for me, that’s not acceptable. But it happened… And what happened as a result? Many victims—and the Swedes got it good. We don’t feel sorry for the Swedes—they got what they deserved. But how many other worthy people died there! Rest in peace.

However, on Radonitsa you don’t have to be sad. And that’s why A.S. Pushkin with his "Poltava" is very much on time. Some people think this work is a brilliant spoof: how boldly, how patriotically—unbelievably—while at the same time carrying this shocking message to the whole history. Funny to the point of tears, as they say. But in schools they teach a different interpretation. And that’s also right. That’s what it means to be a genius: to accept things as they are and never forget.

And if you don’t know how to accept them, then they’ll teach you.