sovietjewry:tom-at-the-farm:The following is my translation of a broadcast by the Russian radio stat
sovietjewry:tom-at-the-farm:The following is my translation of a broadcast by the Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy (8/6/2016) on the subject of the iconic singer Vladimir Vysotsky and his Jewishness [x]. Throughout the text, I will offer several clarifications, and full translations of various songs are available on request. For a full biography of Vladimir Vysotsky and his impact on Russian culture and the world, read his damn Wikipedia page.It’s difficult to explain Vysotsky to non-Russians; he didn’t have much of a singing voice, his style was peculiar and his genre was the often esoteric Soviet criminal ballad - but, like a true poet, he screamed his truth when truth was scarce and illegal. I have chosen the above picture, though it does not appear in the original show transcript (which is rich in other illustrations) because it perfectly summarizes the Bard for me. Vysotsky, as Hamlet, at a famed Moscow theater not far from my former home. A Russian Jew as the conflicted Dane. A poet doomed to an early death, speaking soliloquy to a prop skull. A romanticized figure, whose bones we pore over even now.———-But This Great Luminary Was, Unfortunately - a JewIt’s natural for the average person to be interested in hisroots, his ancestors and the history of his people.What’s strange, however, is when this subject becomes atopic of interest for other people, and when an individual’s ethnicity becomesthe basis for conclusions about both his character and his oeuvre.The Jewish roots of Vladimir Vysotsky have, for many yearsnow, served as fertile ground for incomprehensible arguments and absurdconclusions, although his biography contains no secrets or, in fact, anything out of theordinary.A very young Vysotsky had written in one of his songsketches:In days when ugly moral principlesTurned to dust under ruling powerThe Jews Vysotsky lived in RomeUnknown to the upper class.Of course, the Vysotskys never lived in Rome – this is anartistic impression – but it is thought that the ancestors of VladimirSemyonovich [Vysotsky] hailed from the shtetl Seletz, not far from Brest-Litovsk.Vysotsky fanatics have in great detail traced his genealogy,as well as all patrilineal ancestors* – from his grandfather Volf ShlimovichVysotsky, a near namesake of the poet, to great-great-grandfathers Akhim Reichand Mordechai Bronshtein. And it cannot be said that Vysotsky himself was indifferentto his ethnic background. His cousin, Irena Vysotskaya, recalled, “Of course,Volodya [Vladimir] and I talked at length about our Jewishness.” Fromchildhood, he knew various Yiddish** words and amusing sayings, and because hisuncle Aleksei Vladimirovich and his father sometimes sang Jewish songs,Vysotsky himself gave his due to Jewish folklore.But in 1964, in a letter to his wife Lyudmila Abramov, “Volodya”wrote that he had “come to resemble a Russian lout, and of Jewishness thereremained not a trace.”***However, that very same year, Vysotsky performed his famous song about the “Jewish issue” in the USSR:Vladimir Vysotsky, “Anti-Semite” listen (Notable line: “And I smash the kikes/and I save Russia”) It should be noted that in the Soviet passport, there was theinfamous “fifth paragraph,” where, in required order, appeared the nationality of an individual. However, in common parlance, the “fifth paragraph” almostalways implied Jewishness. And this same “fifth paragraph” had ruined the livesand careers of many notable people, because under the officially proclaimed internationalism,there existed secret quotas for Jews. Jewish people could not hold certainpositions, study at certain universities, and in general, were considered “suspicious”people.[Soviet passport with “Jew” indicated as nationality in the “fifth paragraph”]Despite this, in 1968 Vysotsky performed a song dedicated tohis good friend, the renowned [Jewish] neurosurgeon Eduard Israelevich Kandel.**** [Song text. Notableline – “But this great luminary/Was, unfortunately, a Jew”]Of course, of Jews and Israel, Vysotsky sang not only ina social, but also in a partly political sense. His famous “Lecture about the InternationalStatus” is a satirical song. It should be noted, however, that as far as the “enemystate of Israel” and its leaders were concerned, Soviet people were not evenallowed to joke or create satire. It was all very, very serious.Vladimir Vysotsky, “Lecture about the International Status…”listen(For context, a “lecture about the international status” wasa common form of “enlightening” propaganda for the masses. People gathered in a hall,and the lector explained to them a current event and the Party’s policy on relevantinternational issues). [the lyrics are fucking otherworldly, ask for translation if needed]However, on the subject of the Jewish theme in the artistryof Vladimir Vysotsky, the majority of people***** probably remember this song:Vladimir Vysotsky, “Mishka Shiffman” listen[One of many Notable lines: “He told me such a thing/It was so beautiful/That I damn near fell/Into the claws of Tel Aviv”)From the end of the ‘60s to the beginning of the ‘80s, overa hundred thousand Jews left the USSR for Israel. But Vladimir Vysotsky neverseriously discussed a desire to go anywhere, let alone Israel. Although he hadnumerous opportunities to become an émigré, he always felt himself to be aRussian poet and could not imagine himself without his country.*******———-*Vladimir Vysotsky was a Soviet Jew as his father was Jewish. **The Russian word “yevrei” (Jew) often came to represent all facets of the Eastern European Jewish experience. Although here, the author uses the Russian word for “Jewish,” it almost certainly means “Yiddish” in context.***”Looking Jewish” was/is very much a thing in Russia. Whether this excerpt referred to common physical traits of Ashkenazi Jews, or the stereotype that Jewish men weren’t “strong” or “rough” like Russians, is unclear.****The original text doesn’t mention Kandel’s being a Jew, which should serve as another example of Russian perceptions of Jewishness; his name alone is evidence enough in a show meant for the Russian public.*****Of course, I know nothing about the ethnicity of the show’s author, but as far as most Russian Jews I know are concerned, we all favor the directness and brutal take-down of the USSR’s ugliness in “Anti-Semite.”*****This is the reflection of the radio host. It is suspiciously reminiscent of ever-present Russian propagandist notions that no one could ever possibly want to leave the Motherland. Vysotsky’s own thoughts on the matter are far from clear; as he died very young, we will unfortunately never know the truth.more in the Vladimir Vysotsky tag, including another post written by Anya! -- source link
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