“Don’t forget Voznesensky, never forget”

On “Culture” there is a wonderful cycle “Andrey and Zoya” by Anatoly Malkin. Zoya Boguslavskaya, his muse, Oza, recalls… This was filmed during the life of Andrei Andreevich, when he himself could not speak… And after death.

Then there was “Romance of the Romance” with songs based on his poems. And a memory program from 1987.

On the First “3723 Voznesensky”. This is the name of the planet in his honor. And then “Juno” and “Avos”, all with the same Karachentsov, but without Shanina and Abdulov.

So, remember the Poet. “There are many of us, maybe four of us…” – he wrote like this, meaning… Four are Yevtushenko, Voznesensky, Okudzhava and Akhmadulina. Are they remembered? From time to time.

You were buried like you’re a genius.

Who is the genius of the era.

Who is the genius of the moment.

You are our poor genius of the seventies,

And the poor geniuses of the poor.

This is Yevtushenko on the death of Vysotsky.

They treated him tenderly, but looked down a little, condescendingly.

And they gave me good advice

A little pat on the shoulder,

My friends are famous poets:

Do not rhyme “I scream – I stick out.”

But only all these 43 years after his death remember Vysotsky, he is as relevant as anyone else, he has gone into quotes, jumps out of every iron. He expressed the Russian soul of the Soviet era, that’s all. People’s memory is an intangible, non-opportunistic thing, it cannot be controlled. And there, in this memory, the main ones are Pushkin and Vysotsky, and no one is nearby.

But don’t forget Voznesensky, never forget. His life is like a miracle. Remember: “… But a miracle remained with me, like an accompaniment” (music by Pauls, poetry by Voznesensky, Nikolai Gnatyuk sang – “Drum”).

At the age of 14 he wrote to Pasternak, sent his first poems. Pasternak called back – a miracle!

He was 31, he was standing on the podium, and at the words: “Like my favorite poet, my teacher Vladimir Mayakovsky, I am not a member of the Communist Party …” there was a roar, a roar from the presidium – General Secretary Khrushchev, waving his fist, yelled, squealed, barked behind the poet. Khrushchev, to whom Voznesensky was infinitely grateful for having freed millions from the camps. This howl, the screech of the leader, the rage of the hall had to be experienced as a miracle and become even stronger.

Miracle – “Juno” and “Avos”, a brilliant poem. And when other geniuses joined in – Zakharov, Rybnikov, Sheintsis – the result was a performance by the grace of God, a rock opera in the country of a fatal dungeon, a world-class miracle.

The miracle is his videos, sense of language, time, space. He was never opportunistic, and even his “get Lenin out of the money!” is by no means an homage to the party.

He never wrote specifically for songs, his poems themselves turned into music. Here is Vysotsky on his poems: “Send me, Lord, a second one,” and everyone thought that this was a purely Vysotsky style. Also: “I don’t know about the rest, but I feel the most severe nostalgia not for the past, nostalgia for real.” Music by Stas Namin.

And again Pauls, and Andrei Mironov sang, then Leontiev: “And he flew on the piano, pressing the pedals, the piano has one wing … Press, pianist, sing, pianist, cry, pianist, you took the prize.”

A Million Scarlet Roses! Like this.

Or what Alexander Abdulov sang at the New Year’s light: “I buried champagne under the snowfall in the garden, I will go out with you with caution: suddenly I won’t find it. A fabulous snowstorm will hastily marry us, from the first to the thirteenth and forever now. What poems, as if Pasternak.

And here is the non-eternal parting with his Oza: “We must have gone crazy, you are my enemy, I am your enemy …” Remember?

And Brodsky’s hatred, dislike, first for Yevtushenko, then for Voznesensky. Why? What should they share, celestials?

In the documentary of the First there is such a frame, a plot: Stas Namin arranged meetings and evenings in Los Angeles. Called Voznesensky. And there was Sharon Stone, when she saw the poet, she simply bowed to him. Dustin Hoffman came over. He said from the stage: “I know from the Russians Lenin, Voznesensky …” – “So Voznesensky is in the hall,” Stas said. You should have seen Hoffman’s eyes! First, incredible surprise, then joy, happiness, admiration. Five of the best American poets translated Voznesensky. For them it was an honor.

… He was a friend of our newspaper. And he did not want to believe in his illness, he hoped for a miracle, at random. He has always been a winner. He himself came to the editorial office. The driver accompanied him to the elevator, supported him, and then … Here he is walking towards him. Quietly, slowly, slowly, along the wall. Dressed to the nines, as always. He goes to the mashbureau to dictate his poems. And there is no voice. A poet without a voice is impossible. The way he read these poems of his is unique! Exploded, vibrated, moved to a whisper. Like a waterfall. The intonation dictated the beat, the tempo, the rhythm. And now… Poems were in his heart, in his head… But the voice… Fortunately, our wonderful typist, Russian pianist Lida understood him like no one else, felt him. And the poems were published in the newspaper! Unique, modern. Until his departure.

Read Voznesensky and you will be happy. After all, then he will remain with us, alive and beautiful.

TIME IS CAPTIVED

No more Eduard Sagalaev, one of the first founding fathers of modern Russian television. They leave, one by one.

Eduard Sagalaev, a man from Samarkand. He came to Moscow along the Komsomol line, became an instructor of the Komsomol. And suddenly – TV, youth edition, Molodezhka. They said: the foreman of perestroika. A faded, repeated phrase, a combination that has gone into circulation. But he was such a foreman and was in its purest form. And he believed Gorbachev in the promised freedom. “The twelfth floor” – this is not forgotten. An imposing young man with a chic mustache organized and led this “disgrace” when Soviet teenagers, who suddenly grew out of short pants overnight, demanded, stood for the right to their own voice, for going out of the ordinary. On the one hand, Sagalaev controlled the revolution from above, but on the other, he encouraged, directed, and in his heart he was just such a kid who slapped public taste.

Together with Anatoly Lysenko, he produced the reckless Vzglyad. He became the head of “Vremya” (almost literally, without quotes), headed the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, TV-6 …

TV-6. Moscow” is a special article. Private independent television, where you could create, invent, update. But after that, even there, an extreme policy was screwed in, which Sagalaev never liked. He went free-floating.

…In recent years, it had become increasingly difficult to keep his distance, but he tried very hard. He ended up in “internal emigration”, began to make films about Indian yogis. The result was his new philosophy for all time – to remain free within yourself.

And one more thing… Eduard Mikhailovich has always been a very sincere person. You only need to look into his eyes, and everything becomes clear.

Bright memory.