Today is January 25th, famous as the birthday of that great Russian we all know and love, say it with me: Vladimir Vysotsky. What, who did you think I was gonna say?

Vysotsky was one of the most important artists in the history of the Soviet Union. His gravelly voice and politically subversive songs set him apart from the artists promoted by the regime, who generally stuck to the regime-approved styles (think the Red Army Choir, for instance). He was banned from playing in public, and became something of an underground hero. Recordings of him were shared around in a manner akin to samizdat, illegally printed copies of censored books.

Here are two of my favorite songs of his, У нее всё свое and Охота на волков. The latter has an English translation onscreen and in the description, but for the former, here is a rough translation. In general, the song is comparing Vysotsky’s life with that of a woman he admires from afar, with him noting how much she has, while he just has shit. Also, fun detail, the line “У меня, у меня на окне — ни хера,” translated here as “but I have nothing on my windowsill,” uses an idiom that literally translates as “I don’t have dick on my window.”

Here’s Vysotsky’s version of one of my favorite Russian folk songs. I actually really dislike his version of the song, but I think the song will help demonstrate how poor the audio quality of his recordings generally was; people took whatever they could find.

As you’re listening, try to notice what sounds Vysotsky draws out. When we sing a word, if we have to extend it for any period of time, we elongate the vowels (when Adele sings the line “Hello from the other side,” she makes the ‘i’ in ‘side’ last a while, not the ‘s’). It’s the same in Russian, generally, but not with Vysotsky, who draws out his consonants a lot more than most do (as a note, the Russian letter й [similar to the English “y”] is considered a consonant). Listen to him draw out his ‘n’s, his ‘r’s, and his ‘y’s. Appreciate it. I have no clue why he does it.

Finally, here’s a clip from White Nights, a movie starring Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, and Helen Mirren. The film’s complete propaganda schlock, but it features a Vysotsky song in a way that I think communicates just how important he was. All you need to know to understand this clip is that Baryshnikov’s character, Kolya, is a ballet dancer who defected from the Soviet Union many years ago. He has been recaptured and is going to be forced to dance in the very conservative Soviet style, a stark contrast to the more modern ballet he learned to love in the west. With him is his former lover, Galina, played by Mirren. Vysotsky represents Kolya’s desire for the freedom to dance as he wishes, as he did in the west, and so Kolya dances in an extremely modern style to a Vysotsky song.

See you all at practice,

Lev “January 25th is when the Manson Family were sentenced” Bernstein

Secretary, Quiz Bowl at Disliking Birthdays, January 25 2000-January 25 2021