''Bublichki'' (Russian: бублички, "hot buns" or "bagels"; sometimes transliterated as ''Bublitchki'') is a Russian-language song from the

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

(NEP) era of the Soviet Union, written by . Тhe song's depiction of the harsh reality of life under the NEP resulted in it being banned until the late 1980s. Despite state repression, the song remained popular

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

Background

''Bublichki'' was written in the context of the

, an early Soviet economic plan designed to boost the country's collapsed economy. The NEP's mixed economy featured private enterprise, in contrast to the previous

war communism War communism or military communism (russian: Военный коммунизм, ''Voyennyy kommunizm'') was the economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921. According to Soviet histo ...

. While the NEP led to a resurgence in industrial and agricultural production, a large portion of the gains went to the wealthy

NEPmen NEPmen (russian: Нэпманы, translit=Nepmani) were Businessperson, businesspeople in the early Soviet Union, who took advantage of the opportunities for private trade and Small business, small-scale manufacturing provided under the New Econom ...

, leaving much of the general populace poor. The singer in ''Bublichki'' is one of those left behind by the NEP, forced to resort to selling food on the street in order to survive. While there have been multiple claims to authorship, most scholars agree that the song was written by Yakov Yadov. Yadov was inspired to write the lyrics after a conversation with his friend, the performer Grigory Markovich Krasavin. Krasavin had seen many signs asking for people to buy bagels, and, playing a familiar violin melody, asked Yadov to write lyrics to go along with the tune. According to scholar Patricia Herlihy, the resulting ''blatnaya pesnya'' was one of the most popular songs of the NEP era. The song's subversive themes resulted in the government banning it until the late 1980s; despite the ban, it remained popular by being passed down through word of mouth, though this resulted in many different versions of the song. The song proved persistently popular in translation among

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

-speaking Jews, though the translation lost the political nature of the original. The American duo

the Barry Sisters Minnie Bagelman (April 6, 1923 – October 31, 1976) and Clara Bagelman (October 17, 1920 – November 22, 2014),NOTE: Claire Barry was not born in 1923, the year that had previously been cited as her year of birth, but in 1920, as all notices ...

performed that Yiddish version as late as after

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 ...

Bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

s including

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

recorded English-language versions with the subtitle "The Pretzel Seller's Song." ''Bublichki'' was also reworked into a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

song by Soviet singer and bandleader

Leonid Utyosov Leonid Osipovich Utyosov or Utiosov (russian: link=no, Леонид Осипович Утёсов, uk, link=no, Леонід Йосипович Утьосов); real name Lazar (Leyzer) Iosifovich Vaysbeyn or Weissbein ()) (, Odesa – 9 March ...

, who performed it with his orchestra. Utyosov often performed songs from the ''blatnaya pesnya'' genre, including ''Bublichki'' and other songs by Yadov.

Lyrics

As with many underground songs from the era, multiple versions of the lyrics exist.

References

{{reflist Russian songs Soviet songs Russian chanson Bagels Year of song unknown