Andrei Andreyevich Voznesensky (russian: link=no, Андре́й Андре́евич Вознесе́нский, 12 May 1933 – 1 June 2010) was a Soviet and Russian poet and writer who had been referred to by
Robert Lowell
Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the ''Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects i ...
as "one of the greatest living poets in any language." He was one of the "Children of the '60s," a new wave of iconic Russian intellectuals led by the
Khrushchev Thaw
The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...
.
Voznesensky was considered "one of the most daring writers of the
Soviet era
The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...
" but his style often led to regular criticism from his contemporaries and he was once threatened with
expulsion
Expulsion or expelled may refer to:
General
* Deportation
* Ejection (sports)
* Eviction
* Exile
* Expeller pressing
* Expulsion (education)
* Expulsion from the United States Congress
* Extradition
* Forced migration
* Ostracism
* Persona non ...
by
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
.
He performed poetry readings in front of sold-out stadiums around the world,
and was much admired for his skilled delivery.
Some of his poetry was translated into English by
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...
. Voznesensky's long-serving mentor and muse was
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...
,
the
Nobel Laureate
The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...
and the author of ''
Doctor Zhivago
''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations.
Description
The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago
Yuri Andreievich Zhivago is the ...
''.
Before his death, he was both critically and popularly proclaimed "a living classic",
and "an icon of Soviet intellectuals".
Personal life
Voznesensky was born in Moscow. His father was a professor of engineering, while his mother influenced him early on by reading poetry in his presence.
His father worked during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
In his early life, Voznesensky was fascinated with painting and architecture, in 1957 graduating from the
Moscow Architectural Institute
Moscow Architectural Institute (State Academy) - MArchI (russian: Московский Архитектурный Институт (Государственная Академия) - МАрхИ) is a famous architecture school located in Moscow, ...
with a degree in engineering.
His enthusiasm for poetry, though, proved to be stronger. While still a teenager, he sent his poems to
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...
; the friendship between the two had a strong influence on the young poet, and he later described this relationship in ''"I Am Fourteen"'' – "From that day on, my life took on a magical meaning and a sense of destiny; his new poetry, telephone conversations, Sunday chats at his house from 2 to 4, walks—years of happiness and childish adoration".
Pasternak, who died in 1960, paid him the ultimate tribute – "Your entrance into literature was swift and turbulent. I am glad I've lived to see it".
In later years Voznesensky became reclusive in nature.
He suffered a stroke several years before his death.
He is believed to have endured another stroke in early 2010.
On 1 June 2010,
Voznesensky died at the age of 77.
The secretary of
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. ...
, Gennady Ivanov, announced that he had died in his home in a peaceful manner.
A cause of death went unprovided.
Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
wrote a letter of condolences.
A telegram by Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
said Voznesensky had "truly become a person of dominant influence".
Other senior Russian officials and cultural entities also offered many tributes.
Voznesensky's wife,
Zoya Boguslavskaya, outlived him.
He was buried in the Moscow
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...
on 4 June 2010.
Career
Voznesensky's style was considered different from his contemporaries in the Soviet Union.
His first poems were published in 1958,
and these immediately reflected his unique style. His lyrics are characterized by his tendency "to measure" the contemporary person by modern categories and images, by the eccentricity of
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
s, by the complex rhythmical system and sound effects.
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...
and
Pablo Neruda
Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...
have been cited among the poets who influenced him most.
The
Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...
-inspired "I Am Goya" was an early Voznesensky effort, and went on to achieve considerable recognition for its impressions of the fear and horror attached to war, as demonstrated by its Russian metaphors and recurring "g" sounds.
Another early poem, "Fire in the Architecture Institute", was inspired by a 1957 night fire at the Institute of Architecture in Moscow.
Voznesensky later said: "I believe in symbols. I understood that architecture was burned out in me. I became a poet".
Voznesensky was one of several young Russian intellectuals whom
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...
invited to a reception hosted by the ruling Communist Party in December 1962.
Khrushchev scathingly remarked on Voznesensky at the ceremony: "Just look at this new Pasternak! You want to get a
oreignpassport tomorrow? You want it? And then go away, go to the dogs! Go, go there".
In 1963, his fame blossomed and he became "as popular as
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
" after Khrushchev publicly and falsely branded him a pervert.
In the 1960s, during the so-called
Thaw, Voznesensky frequently travelled abroad: to France, Germany, Italy, the United States and other countries. The popularity of Voznesensky,
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko ( rus, links=no, 1=Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Евтуше́нко; 18 July 1933 – 1 April 2017) was a Soviet and Russian poet. He was also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, ...
and
Bella Akhmadulina
Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina ( rus, Бе́лла (Изабе́лла) Аха́товна Ахмаду́лина, tt-Cyrl, Белла Әхәт кызы Әхмәдуллина; 10 April 1937 – 29 November 2010) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and ...
was marked by their performances in front of the adoring crowds numbering in the thousands at stadiums, in concert halls and universities. In doing so, he served as "a sort of unofficial Kremlin cultural envoy", according to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
His poetry reading skills were profound.
He competed with
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
and
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Awards, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Emmy, and Tony Award, Tony for his ...
at one show in London.
He criticized the
1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.
While in the United States, he met
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
,
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...
, and
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
.
![Andrei Voznesensky](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Andrei_Voznesensky.jpg)
Voznesensky's friendship with many contemporary writers, artists and other intellectuals is reflected in his poetry and essays. He is known to wider audiences for the superhit ''Million of Scarlet Roses'' that he penned for
Alla Pugacheva
Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, ) (born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day, even though she has retired from performing. For her "clear mezzo-soprano and a full display of ...
in 1984 and for the hugely successful
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
''
Juno and Avos'' (1979), based on the life and death of
Nikolai Rezanov
Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (russian: Николай Петрович Резанов) ( – ), a Russian nobleman and statesman, promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California to three successive Emperors of All Russia ...
.
His creations have been turned into works of theatre.
One collection of his poems, "Antimiry" ("Anti-worlds") served as the basis for a famous performance at the
Taganka Theatre
Taganka Theatre (russian: link=no, Театр на Таганке, Театр драмы и комедии на Таганке, "Таганка") is a theater located in the Art Nouveau building on Taganka Square in Moscow.
History
The Drama and ...
in 1965. "Save your Faces" was performed at the same venue.
"Juno and Avos" was performed at the Lenin's Komsomol Theater (now
Lenkom
Lenkom Theatre, formerly known as Lenin’s Komsomol Moscow Theatre or Moscow Leninist Komsomol Theatre is the official name of what was once known as the Moscow State Theatre named after Komsomol, a Communist youth league set up by Vladimir Leni ...
).
Others on foreign territory.
Ukrainian composer
Tamara Maliukova Sidorenko (1919-2005) set some of his poems to music.
Notable works
* ''The Triangular Pear (1962)''
* ''First Ice''
* ''Antiworlds (1964)''
* ''Stained-glass Master''
* ''Violoncello Oakleaf''
* ''Videoms and Fortune Telling by the Book''
* ''Arrow in the Wall (1986)''
* ''I am Goya''
* ''A Shallow Paradise''
* ''Dogalypse''
* ''The Parabolic Ballad''
* ''The Antiworlds (1964)''
* ''Glance (Vzglyad)''
* ''My Friend's Light ''
* ''Her Story ''
* ''Russian-American Romance''
* ''Abuses and Awards''
* ''A Ballad'' (Thesis for a Doctor's Degree)
* ''Who Are You?''
* ''Rubber Souls''
* ''Fate''
* ''Self-Portrait''
* ''The Song''
* ''Modern Nature''
* ''
Milion alykh roz'' (with music by
Raimonds Pauls
Ojārs Raimonds Pauls (born 12 January 1936 in Iļģuciems, Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian composer and piano player who is well known in Latvia, Russia, post-Soviet countries and worldwide. He was the Minister of Culture of Latvia from 1988 to 199 ...
)
* ''Story Under Full Sail; A Story of Love and Loss''
* ''Someone is Beating a Woman''
* ''Dogalypse. San Francisco Poetry Reading'' City Lights Books, The Pocket Poets series: Number 29 (in English)
*''The Shadow of the Sound (1970)''
*''Achilles' Heart (1966)''
*''Lonjumeau (1963)''
*''Oza (1964)''
Awards and nominations
In 1978 Voznesensky was awarded the
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
.
He is an honorable member of ten academies, including the Russian academy of learning (1993), the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
, Parisian
Académie Goncourt
The Société littéraire des Goncourt (Goncourt Literary Society), usually called the Académie Goncourt (Goncourt Academy), is a French literary organisation based in Paris. It was founded in 1900 by the French writer and publisher Edmond de Go ...
and others.
On Tuesday, 23 December 2008, Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
bestowed a state award upon Voznesensky at the Kremlin.
Legacy
A
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
3723 Voznesenskij, discovered by Soviet astronomer
Nikolai Chernykh
Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh (russian: Никола́й Степа́нович Черны́х) (6 October 1931 – 25 May 2004Казакова, Р.К. Памяти Николая Степановича Черных'. Труды Государст ...
in 1976, is named after him.
English critic
John Bayley described his feelings after hearing a Voznesensky recitation of "I Am Goya":
Honours and awards
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
;
**2nd class (5 May 2008) - for outstanding achievements in the development of literature and many years of creative activity
**3rd class (15 January 2004) - for outstanding contribution to the development of national literature
*
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
(1983)
*
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
(1978) - a collection of "stained glass maker" (1976)
* Voznesensky is an honorary member of ten academies around the world, including the
Russian Academy of Education
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
(1993), the
American Academy of Literature and Art, the
Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria.
Bavarian may also refer to:
* Bavarii, a Germanic tribe
* Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans
* Bavarian, Iran, a vill ...
, the
Paris Academy Goncourt brothers and the
European Academy of Poetry
* Golden Badge of Honour "Public Recognition" (2003)
References
External links
English translations of Voznesensky's poetryAndrei Voznesensky poetrya
Stihipoeta*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081004191523/http://spintongues.msk.ru/VoznesenskyYevtuh.htm Andrei Voznesensky's article on Yevgeny Yevtushenkobr>
Obituaryin The Independent by
Marcus Williamson
Marcus Williamson is a British writer, journalist and campaigner. As an obituarist for ''The Independent'' he has written obituaries of more than 300 subjects, including artists, poets, actors and inventors.
Campaigns
Phorm
In 2009 the AIM-l ...
*
Translations of 12 poems with an introduction, by Dana Golin and Alex Cigale Includes translation of poem "Monologue of a Beatnik," (1962,) 144-145*
Andrei Voznesenskii (Voznesensky) Papersat
Stanford University Libraries
The Stanford University Libraries (SUL), formerly known as "Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources" ("SULAIR"), is the library system of Stanford University in California. It encompasses more than 24 libraries in all. Sev ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voznesensky, Andrei
1933 births
2010 deaths
20th-century Russian male writers
20th-century Russian poets
21st-century Russian male writers
21st-century Russian poets
Architects from Moscow
Writers from Moscow
Academicians of the Russian Academy of Education
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the USSR State Prize
Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath laureates
Russian architects
Russian male poets
Russian male writers
Soviet architects
Soviet male poets
Deaths by poisoning
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery