The “Kazan History” is one of the key literary monuments of the 16th century. It attracts attention not only by its description of the complex relations between Rus' and Kazan or the capture of the city by the troops of Ivan IV. It also has a deeply personal, sometimes contradictory view of the events and their participants. The author, captured by the Kazan people twenty years before the campaign of Ivan the Terrible, lived among them as an honorary prisoner, communicating with the khan and nobles, studying chronicles and observing city life. The image of the city, multifaceted and changeable, is revealed gradually.
This is already evident in the introduction, where the city is called both “prezlyy” (nasty) and “predivnyy” (causing admiration). After the capture of Kazan, the author returned to the service of the Moscow tsar, which largely explains his attitude. Nevertheless, the chronicler repeatedly admires the beauty and convenience of the location: this is evident in the story of the foundation of Kazan by Tsar Sain. The description combines geographical information, a pragmatic listing of the riches of the land and its aesthetic assessment. This allows the author to emphasize the uniqueness of Kazan not only for Rus', but also for other states.
“… Fruitful and seed-bearing, boiling with honey and milk…”, a metaphor defining the wealth of the land, gives the image of Kazan a fairy-tale character. Another detailed description is given at the end of the story, when Ivan IV, having established a siege, inspects the city: “… Surprised by the unusual beauty of the walls and fortresses…”. Now the author's attention is focused on the strength and skillful beauty of the fortress walls and defensive structures. The difference in the two descriptions is due to the point of view: in the first case, from the position of the founder of the city, and in the second, through the eyes of the commander who is about to besiege it.
In the context of the conflict with Muscovite Rus’, Kazan begins to be perceived as hostile. It becomes a symbol of the “damned” kingdom, associated with the Golden Horde and its aggressive policy. The city is described as a place where instead of “honey and milk” already “Russian blood is boiling”, which emphasizes its hostility. The change in the appearance of Kazan is especially clearly manifested in the cry of Queen Sujumbike, captured by Muscovite warriors. Her address to the city is filled with sorrow.
Metaphors that appeared in the author's descriptions of Kazan are used again, but now they present events from the point of view of the enemy queen: at the time when the Kazan people attacked Rus', copper rivers and streams of wine flowed in the city. Now, when the city is ruled by the protégé of the Moscow tsar, rivers of the citizens' blood and springs of tears flow in it. A complete change in the appearance of Kazan in the work occurs with the victory of the Russian troops.
Entering the defeated Kazan, Ivan IV says, “Oh, how many people died in a single short hour for this one city! And it was not out of stupidity that the people of Kazan laid down their lives for it: great was the glory and beauty of this kingdom.” The new tsar also orders Kazan to be strengthened and expanded. This enthusiastic image is revealed in its entirety in the chapter “Praise to the City of Kazan”, which is an extended author's praise of the city, symbolizing the new power.
Throughout the work, Kazan represents change. The dynamic image of the city in the “Kazan History” is not just a geographical object, but a complex symbol reflecting the contradictions of the era: beauty and destruction, inaccessibility and submission.
The material is based on the work of Doctor of Philological Sciences Nina Trofimova, «“Wonderful Kazan”: the image of an enemy city in the “Kazan History”».
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"