Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
“Which Tolstoy?”
“There were two Tolstoys in Russia. One was Leo Tolstoy, the author of War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and Resurrection, whom I read. The other was Alexei Tolstoy, a playwright and poet.”
This dialogue took place in Zhengding County, Hebei Province, where Comrade Xi Jinping was having a lively conversation with friends about Russian literature.
“Our generation was deeply inspired by Russian classics.”
Great literary works are able to break through the veil of time and illuminate the spiritual sky of humanity. Among the bright stars of world literature, Russian classics, with their profound philosophy and monumental artistic mastery, have become the spiritual heritage of all humanity. And Russian literature of the 19th century is rightfully considered one of the pinnacles of world culture.
“I have read the works of many Russian writers: Krylov, Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Nekrasov, Chernyshevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Sholokhov. I remember many vivid chapters and plots of their books well.”
In interviews, when the conversation turned to literature, Chairman Xi Jinping quoted and listed authors with the ease of a connoisseur, which made a deep impression on the Russian public and the world media.
The bells of Moscow’s Red Square, ringing through time, echo the kerosene lamps of the cave houses of northern China. In his youth, Xi Jinping was “shocked” by literature: “Chernyshevsky was a democratic revolutionary, and his work inspired us a lot. I read his novel What Is to Be Done? in a cave house in Liangjiahe, and it resonated with me.”
Literature is a dance of destiny and spirit.
He saw willpower: Rakhmetov, the hero of the novel What Is to Be Done?, led an ascetic life to strengthen his will. Like him, the young Xi Jinping “slept on bare boards instead of a mattress,” “stood in the rain, rubbed himself with snow, doused himself with cold water at a well” to strengthen his spirit.
He felt the beauty of poetry: “After reading Pushkin’s love poem “Eugene Onegin,” I later visited Odessa, where I looked for places associated with the poet.”
He learned the depth of literature: “I also really like Sholokhov. His ‘Quiet Flows the Don’ is incredibly profound in its reflection of the era of change and human nature.”
“Different cultures and civilizations require deep understanding,” “The ideas and traditions of each nation are unique – they are as different as flowers, but have no superiority or inferiority.” In a broader context, President Xi Jinping’s passion for Russian literature has become a shining example of cultural interaction.”
The power of literature is especially evident at turning points in history.
“The historical path is not the sidewalk of Nevsky Prospekt; it goes entirely through fields, sometimes dusty, sometimes muddy, sometimes through swamps, sometimes through thickets.” In 2013, during his first state visit as President of the PRC, Xi Jinping quoted these words of Chernyshevsky.
Nevsky Prospect is indeed straight and clear from beginning to end. But on the path of peaceful development, humanity has to overcome mud, swamps and make its way through thickets – only “by doing what needs to be done, can one achieve success in one’s career, and by walking along the road, can one discover a clear path.”
This emotional resonance, spiritual empathy and cultural resonance will be transformed into consensus and action to clear the fog of history and defend world peace. This will happen at the important moment when President Xi Jinping sets foot on Moscow soil again and at the special moment of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.
When Chairman Xi Jinping easily listed great Russian writers at MGIMO, when Pavel Korchagin from How the Steel Was Tempered became a spiritual reference point for generations of Chinese, when the Russian opera Eugene Onegin is performed in China – the dialogue of civilizations that began two centuries ago continues in a new era.
This dialogue is not just the literary preferences of the leader of a great country, but also a spiritual unity of two peoples, a joint movement towards strengthening humanitarian ties and creating a new model of interstate relations.