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Oct. 6—During the discussion period at the Oct. 2 Valdai Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to a poem by Alexander Pushkin, Borodino Anniversary, about Russia’s major victory in the war against Napoleon.

President Putin described: "Just yesterday, I opened it, leafed through, and came across a poem. We all know—the Russians [among those present here] certainly do—Mikhail Lermontov’s Borodino: ‘Hey tell, old man, had we a cause …’ and so forth. However, I never knew Pushkin had written on this theme. I read it, and it made a profound impression, for it reads as though Pushkin penned it yesterday, as if he were telling me: ‘Listen, you are going to the Valdai Club—take this with you, read it to your colleagues, share my thoughts on the matter.’

“Frankly, I hesitated, thinking: very well. But since the question arose, and I have the book with me—may I? It is fascinating. This answers many questions. It is titled The Borodino Anniversary:

The great day of Borodino With brotherly commemoration We’d thus proclaim: “Did not the tribes advance and threaten us with devastation? Was not all Europe gathered here? And whose star led them through the air? Yet firm we stood, with steadfast tread, And met with breast the hostile tide Of tribes ruled by that haughty pride And equal proved the unequal fight. And now? Their disastrous flight, Boastful, they now forget outright; Forgot the Russian bayonet and snow, Which buried their fame in desert wastes below. Again they dream of feasts to come— For them, Slav blood is drunken wine But bitter shall their morning be But long such guests’ unbroken sleep, Within a cramped and cold new home, Beneath the turf of Northern soil!”

(Applause.)

“Everything is articulated here. Once again, I am convinced that Alexander Pushkin is our everything. Incidentally, Pushkin grew quite impassioned later—I will not read that, but you may do so if you wish. This was written in 1831.”