Mikhail Vasilyevich Isakovsky (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Исако́вский; – 20 July 1973) was a Soviet and Russian poet, lyricist and translator. Hero of Socialist Labour (1970).
Smolensk Governorate
Smolensk Governorate (russian: Смоленская губерния, Smolenskaja gubernija), or the Government of Smolensk, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR. It ex ...
, to a poor peasant family of ethnic
Russians
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118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
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. A local priest taught him to read and write. Later he studied at a gymnasium for two years. His first poem, ''Просьба солдата'', was published in 1914 in Russian newspaper ''Nov (Новь)''. In 1918, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From 1921 until 1931, he worked in Smolensk newspapers. In 1927, his first book of poems, ''Провода в соломе'', was published. In 1931, he left for Moscow.
Many poems of Isakovsky are set to music. The most famous are " Katyusha (''Катюша'')" (music by
Matvey Blanter
Matvey Isaakovich Blanter (russian: Матве́й Исаа́кович Бла́нтер) (27 September 1990) was a Soviet composer, and one of the most prominent composers of popular songs and film music in the Soviet Union. Among many other work ...
), "The Enemy Burned My Native Hut (''Враги сожгли родную хату'')" (music by Matvey Blanter), "In the Frontier Forest (''В лесу прифронтовом'')", and "Migrant Birds Fly (''Летят перелётные птицы'')", and " Lonely Accordion (''Одинокая гармонь'')". His songs "What You Were Is What You Are (''Каким ты был, таким ты и остался'')" and "Oh, Arrowwood Is Blooming (''Ой, цветет калина'')", set to music by
Isaak Dunayevsky
Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky (russian: Исаак Осипович Дунаевский ; also transliterated as Dunaevski or Dunaevskiy; 25 July 1955) was a Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who composed music for operett ...
, were used in the film ''
Cossacks of the Kuban
''Cossacks of the Kuban'' () from Mosfilm is a color film, glorifying the life of the farmers in the kolkhoz of the Soviet Union's Kuban region, directed by Ivan Pyryev and starring Marina Ladynina, his wife at that time.Vladimir Zakharov, Isakovsky's poems set to music appear in the repertoire of the Pyatnitsky Choir. The most widely known of them are "Along the Village (''Вдоль деревни'')", "Seeing Off (''Провожанье'')" and "You Can Never Tell (''И кто его знает'')". According to Alexandra Permyakova, chief musician of the Pyatnitsky Choir, these songs made the Choir famous.
He twice received the
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
for his songwriting (1943, 1949). In 1970, he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labour. He was also awarded four
Orders of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
, in addition to other orders and medals.
He also published a book on the subject of poetry, ''О поэтическом мастерстве'' ('On Poetic Mastery').
Mikhail Isakovsky died in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...