Alexander Moiseevich Gorodnitsky ( rus, Алекса́ндр Моисе́евич Городни́цкий, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr məɪˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ɡərɐˈdʲnʲitskʲɪj, a=Alyeksandr Moisyeyevich Gorodniczky.ru.vorb.oga; born March 20, 1933) is a well-known Soviet and Russian

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

and poet. Professionally, he is a geologist and oceanographer. Gorodnitsky is an author of over 250 scientific publications on geophysics and tectonics of ocean bottom. He teaches in Moscow State University and State University of the naukograd Dubna. He was awarded the honorary title of "Merited figure of sciences of Russian Federation" (2005). He is a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

Early life

Gorodnitsky was born on 20 March 1933 in Leningrad to a

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

family. His father was engineer and worked in the printing industry. His mother, in her youth, was a school math teacher, then she worked as corrector and editor of sailing directions. Gorodnitsky survived the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

during Second World War. In 1951, he graduated from high school and entered the Faculty of Geophysics of the Leningrad Mining Institute, which he graduated in 1957 with specialist degree.

Academic career

From 1957 until 1972 Gorodnitsky worked in the

Research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

for Geology of Arctic (its current name is ''All-Russian Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean named after academician I.S. Gramberg'' (russian: Всероссийский научно-исследовательский институт геологии и минеральных ресурсов Мирового океана имени академика И.С. Грамберга)). He has participated in many geological expeditions. Gorodnitsky is one of the discoverers of the Igarskoye copper deposit (1962). Since 1962, he has participated in maritime geophysical expeditions. Gorodnitsky is one of the authors of new ocean's electric field measurement method (1967). In collaboration with V.D. Fedorov and A.N. Paramonov he discovered the bioelectric effect of phytoplankton (1967). In 1968, he became a Candidate of Sciences (thesis on "The application of magnetometry and electrometry for the ocean bottom exploration"). From 1969 until 1972 Gorodnitsky headed the Laboratory of Marine Geophysics of the

for Geology of Arctic. In 1972, Gorodnitsky moved from Leningrad to Moscow and started working for the Research Institute of Oceanology named after P.P. Shirshov as a

principal researcher Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

. In 1982, he became a Doctor of Sciences in geological and mineralogical sciences (thesis on "The structure of oceanic lithosphere and underwater mountain building"). In 1991, Gorodnitsky was given the highest academic rank of the professor. He authored original model of petromagnetic structure of the Mid-ocean ridge zones (1997).

Poet and singer-songwriter

Gorodnitsky's first songs appeared during his expedition in 1953. For a long time his songs were distributed via samizdat tape recordings, and often performed by other singers. Like Alexander Galich, and unlike other bards, Gorodnitsky composed and sang his songs

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

for several decades; later, he started playing the guitar. Most of his songs are based on his personal experiences. In concert, he usually performs with a professional guitarist accompanying him. Gorodnitsky is acknowledged to be one of the founders of the bard songs genre in Soviet Union. His most popular songs are following: "Atlases hold up the sky", "Near the Pillars of Hercules", "To the mainland", "Blue sky above Canada", "French ambassador's wife", "Snow", "Riffles", "The song of polar pilots". He is an author of over 50 poems, songs and other literary works. Gorodnitsky is a member of the

Union of Writers of Russia The Union of Writers of Russia (russian: Союз писателей России, translit=Soyuz pisatelei Rossii) is a creative union of professional writers in Russia. It is the successor of the Union of RSFSR Writers, which was founded in 1958. ...

and PEN International. Also he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fazil Iskander International Literary Award. He was awarded the honorary title of "Merited figure of arts of Russian Federation" (2013). Gorodnitsky currently resides in Moscow and regularly performs at concerts and various bard festivals.

Family

Gorodnitsky has a son from first wife, a Vladimir (born 1955), who has been living in Israel since 1984. His second wife was Anna Nal (28 September 1942 - 11 September 2017), professional interpreter/translator. The marriage was childless.

Political views and social activity

Gorodnitsky opposed the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv th ...

and had signed the open letter against war, political self-isolation of Russia, restoration of totalitarianism.

References

External links

Официальный сайт Александра Городницкого
— official site
Personalities of Saint-Petersburg
— biography and photographs
Alexander Gorodnitsky’s bio

А.М. Городницкий поёт "Снег" и "Над Канадой". Видео. "Климат, лёд, вода, ландшафты"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorodnitsky, Alexander 1933 births Living people 20th-century Russian male writers Honoured Scientists of the Russian Federation Russian bards Russian Jews Russian male poets Russian male singer-songwriters Russian television presenters Saint Petersburg Mining University alumni Soviet male singer-songwriters Soviet male writers Soviet musicians Soviet poets Soviet songwriters Writers from Saint Petersburg 20th-century Russian male singers 20th-century Russian singers Soviet Jews Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Soviet geologists Soviet oceanographers