Putin quotes Tyutchev verse at teachers’ event; Meduza says he misquoted it
In short
Russian President Vladimir Putin quoted a quatrain by Fyodor Tyutchev about Russia at an event with teachers on 5 October, saying the lines were absorbed “almost with mother’s milk”. Meduza reported that he misquoted the verse twice and that the state agency TASS corrected the quotation in its report to match the original text. TASS described the occasion as an awards ceremony for teachers, while Meduza called it a meeting with teachers.
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President Vladimir Putin quoted a quatrain by Fyodor Tyutchev about Russia while speaking to teachers on 5 October, according to TASS, RIA Novosti and Meduza. Meduza reported that Putin said the lines were absorbed “almost with mother’s milk” thanks to teachers, and that they are known to every Russian. TASS identified the source of the lines as Tyutchev’s poem “Умом Россию не понять”. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Meduza reported that Putin misquoted the verse twice. In his version, according to the outlet, the final line was “в Россию надо просто верить”, while the original reads “в Россию можно только верить”. Meduza also reported that the state agency TASS corrected the error in its news item, giving the original Tyutchev text inside the quotation. [ 3 ]
The documents differ on how the occasion is described. TASS said Putin quoted Tyutchev at an awards ceremony for teachers, while Meduza said the remarks were made at a meeting with teachers. Neither official agency’s published headline or summary mentions an inaccuracy in the quotation. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The remarks were made at a domestic ceremony and were carried by the main state agencies, so the wording itself is unlikely to have policy consequences. The detail that a state agency silently corrected the president’s quotation, as reported by Meduza, is the element most likely to draw attention outside Russia.
Key facts
- Putin quoted a quatrain by Fyodor Tyutchev about Russia at a teachers’ event on 5 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- According to Meduza, Putin said the lines were absorbed “almost with mother’s milk” thanks to teachers, and that every Russian knows them. [ 3 ]
- Meduza reported that Putin misquoted the verse twice. [ 3 ]
- The original final line reads “в Россию можно только верить”, while Putin said “в Россию надо просто верить”, according to Meduza. [ 3 ]
- Meduza reported that TASS corrected Putin’s error in its news item by giving the original Tyutchev text inside the quotation. [ 3 ]
- TASS said the event was an awards ceremony for teachers; Meduza described it as a meeting with teachers. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether Putin made errors in the quotation, and how many. Only Meduza reported the errors; the official agencies did not say in their published titles and summaries that the quotation was inaccurate.
- What kind of event it was. TASS called it an awards ceremony for teachers and Meduza called it a meeting with teachers; the documents do not make clear whether these are the same occasion or two descriptions of one event.
- Where the event took place. None of the documents state a location.