Rewriting “Taras Bulba” in Ukrainian

“Taras Bulba” in Ukrainian is a classic case of manipulative rewriting that gave a good reason for academic research in this tricky business to be called “The Manipulative School of Translation”.

Gogol’s prophetic work “Taras Bulba” gives an opportunity to see the framing of the Russo-Ukrainian war in the Ruussian mentality through a similarity between the Cossack hero slaying his son, who under the spell of infatuation with a Polish lady turned his sword against his own people, and Russian President Putin, punishing Ukraine for its backstreet affair with the EU and NATO.