http://www.turkishpress.com/news/411697/
Pushkin, Russia's national poet: Ethiopian or Eritrean?
By Abebech Tamene, Monday, June 09, 2014
ADDIS ABABA - The origin of renowned Russian poet Alexander Pushkin has
long been a source of dispute between historians in Ethiopia and
neighboring Eritrea.
"[There's] no question about Alexander Pushkin being an Ethiopian," Ayalneh
Mulatu, who translated Pushkin's poetry into Amharic, the language of
Ethiopia, told Anadolu Agency.
"Pushkin belongs to Ethiopia because his great grandfather, Abraham
Hanibal, was born of Ethiopian parents on Ethiopian soil," he said.
Born in 1799 in Moscow, Pushkin is considered Russia's greatest poet and
the founder of modern Russian literature.
His grandfather, Abram Gannibal, was born in Ethiopia before being brought
to Russia as a slave of Russian Czar Peter the Great.
In Russia, Abram climbed the ladder of Russian society, eventually becoming
an aristocrat.
According to Mulatu, Pushkin was proud of his grandfather and even
dedicated a poem to him.
"He even wrote a poem titled 'My Bloodline,' admiring his black great
grandpa, in response to a person who tried to undermine Hanibal," he said.
Mulatu and many Eritrean historians agree that Gannibal was born at a place
called Loggo Sarda in 1696.
Since Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1991, Loggo Sarda has fallen under
Eritrean administration.
"Once recorded accurately, history never changes... Pushkin's bloodline is
from Ethiopia. His great grandfather lived and died as an Ethiopian,"
Mulatu said.
The Russians, he said, "never want to hear that Pushkin was an Ethiopian or
African."
"It is painful for them to accept that Pushkin, the father of modern
Russian language and literature, is a black man," he added.
Monuments commemorating Pushkin have been set up in several countries,
including Russia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
In 2002, the Ethiopian government built a bust of Pushkin and named a
square and an avenue - located near African Union headquarters - after the
celebrated poet.
Seven years later, Eritrea erected its own monument to the Russian writer,
likewise naming a street after him.
In both cases, Russian diplomatic representatives had taken part in the
unveiling ceremonies.
"Pushkin is a world figure," Mulatu said. "The whole world celebrates him
as a father of modern literature."
Copyright (c) 2014 Anadolu Agency
Received on Tue Jun 10 2014 - 22:26:03 EDT