Rendering 14: 'Vladimir Vysotsky - 75'

The article ‘Vladimir Vysotsky – 75’ was published by Daria Manina in The Voice of Russia on January 25, 2013. It discusses a famed Soviet-era actor and singer-song writer Vladimir Vysotsky and carries comments on his fame and influence.

   Speaking of Vladimir Vysotsky, it’s necessary to note that he as the idol of millions in the former USSR, still ranks prominently among the top famous Russians, second only to the world’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, with other 20th -century celebrities such as as Marshal Georgy Zhukov, writer Leo Tolstoy, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Alexander Solzhenitsin and Andrei Sakharaov all trailing behind, according to a nationwide poll held by the VTsIOM polling agency. 

   However, it isn’t disclose why 32 years after his death, Vyssotsky remains an iconic personality. And analyzing that, it’s necessary to emphasize that the answer comes in his songs: there are some 600 of them – composed on virtually any imaginable topic and sung in a completely amazing style to the self-accompaniment of a seven-string guitar. There are a lot of comments on that fact, as the magnetic power of his songs was such that it made everybody absolutely sure that all he sang about had happened to himself. And the impression was that he himself had been in a prison camp or served in the army during the war. It was there, deep within him and came out so naturally. His lyrics, more than just rhyme, struck a responsive chord with the listeners.

   Giving appraisal of that fact, it should be pointed out that Vysotsky’s heart-rending sincerity, often expressed in the form of a parable, plunged him in to disfavor with the Soviet authorities. “Wolf Hunt”, one of his best-known songs, is a screaming allegory about a doomed artist deprived of the freedom of creation.

It’s an open secret that the peak of Vysotsky’s fame coincided with a period of stagnation in the Soviet Union: there was no room for splashes in that stagnation. No one was permitted to criticize the regime, say or hint something of the sort – sanctions followed immediately.

   There is every reason to believe that Vyssotsky was not a dissident. Of course, few mini-records of his songs were released in Russia during his lifetime, but without a doubt he played key roles at the immensely popular Taganka Theater in Moscow, and he constantly appeared in movies. Finally, he was allowed dozens of concerts a year. Multitudes of copies of amateur audio recordings of those concerts spread across the country.

   In resolute terms in conclusion the author makes it clear that Vysotsky was famous, but he wanted official recognition and he deserved it. But he was denied recognition during his lifetime. It was until after his death at the age of 42, that he was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist of the Soviet Union. And I think Vladimir Vysotsky is not only the idol – he is the legend of Soviet and Russian history, as more than 30 years since his death in 1980, he continues to draw crowds in Moscow.