Durign the first day of ‘Saadi and Pushkin Conferecne’, Mikhail Sinelnikov Russian poet and professor said Pushkin paid particular attention to spiritual treasure of the orient and termed him a translator of Saadi's works

IBNA: The first day of Saadi and Pushkin Conference was held on Tuesday evening (April 17) at the gathering hall of Book City Center with the presence of Kurosh Kamali Sarvestani director of Saadi Studies Center, Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi researcher, Russian poet Mikhail Isakovich Sinelnikov, researcher Zahra Mohammadi, and Professor Hassan Bolkhari. 

During the session, Russian poet Mikhail Isakovich Sinelnikov made his speech about 'Saadi in the Works of Pushkin'. "The sublime art of Saadi is something beyond masterly expression of emotions. In Saadi's works emotions come into final reconciliation and reach ultimate triumph. Long living Saadi presented his innovative thought and ideas to the public and that is why he was known as the symbol of poetry. Russian pilgrims of Saadi or those familiar with his work, usually find Alexander Pushkin as his Russian peer in poetry," he said. 

Then drawing on the common characteristics of Pushkni and Saadi, he said: "God-given talent mingled with deep emotions and reason and above all, belief in ultimate triumph of reasin is found in both Pushkin and Saadi – a feature that is also along with their innovation and stylistic abilities to give in plots void of any defects and that will definitely turn into real miraculous harmony." 

He added: "The similarity is not coincidental. Saadi spent the first 30 years of his life on acquisition of knowledges and the next 30 years on travelling. Only the third 30 years of his life are spent on poetry." 

"As for Pushkin," he continued, "nature had planned for him to be a genius like Dante, Goethe, and Saadi. He passed the stairs of success one after the other with an unimaginable speed and reached perfection before 30. He lived only for 37 years and her death was a catastrophe for his people." 

Then citing Dostoevsky's view of Pushkin as a universal figure, he added: "Throughout his fine works, Pushkin paid particular attention to the spiritual treasure of the orient, from the ancient to the middle ages. He even noticed his contemporary arts and did not neglect Muslim countries of the East." 

"Pushkin believed that Saadi's word has beautified his language. His imiation of the Holy Quran and the Death of the Prophet are no doubt some of his best works that are composed under the inspiration of this holy book," he added. 

Sinelnikov asserted: "Byron is another peer for Pushkin. Pushkin enjoyed eastern verses because of the wisdom inherent in them. And although he praised Byron and his Byronic heroes to the end of his life, he gradually turned from Byronic style to grandeur of Persian poetry." 

He continued to say that Pushkin never travelled to Iran but went to Tiflis in 1828 – a city that had preserved the Persian culture. Elaborating on pieces of his poem in which the traces of Saadi is visible, he mentioned a few contemporary translators of Persian poetry whose endeavors have led to Pushkin's acquaintance with Saadi; figures like Vassili Andrievitch Joukovski translator of Ferdowsi, dramatist Aleksander Griboyedov, etc. 

Bringing examples of many Russian poets and writers who had been influenced by Persian literature and literary tradition, he concluded that Russians were in oral contact with Persian literature and were therefore uninfluenced by European presuppositions about the orient.

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