Russian Calendar in Brief

JANUARY

2 Today is the 120th anniversary of the birth of Vasily Degtyarev (1880-1949), Russian firearms designer, major general in the Engineers Army, Hero of Socialist Labor and Ph.D. Born into the family of a worker, Degtyarev began working at the age of 11 at Tula’s famous Armory. In 1914, he moved to the Setroretsk-based armory and began developing an automatic rifle later named after him. In 1918-1920, on assignment from Soviet Marshal Mikhail Frunze, Degtyarev developed a portable machine-gun. Later he would design a large caliber machine-gun, as well as machine-guns installed on aircraft, tanks and finally, an anti-tank rifle. In the history of the Russian army, the name of Degtyarev is on a par with Mikhail Kalashnikov. Degtyarev received three Stalin Prizes, as well as seven Soviet awards and numerous medals.

7 Orthodox Christmas

11 This is the 55th birthday of the talented actor Georgy Taratorkin, the Mossoviet actor who 25 years ago offered a brilliant portrayal of Rodion Raskolnikov—the main character in the film Crime and Punishment, based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel of the same name. Taratorkin won over audiences with his subtle, psychological acting, offering the uncommon face of a true Russian intellectual. Taratorkin was subsequently asked to play in many films based on books by foreign authors, e.g. his role as Rudolph Jordach from Irwin’s Shaw’s novel Rich Man, Poor Man.

18 Today is the 90th birthday of a Hero of the Soviet Union, Valentina Grizodubova. Grizodubova, a pilot, was commander of an aviation regiment during WWII. Yet she had become famous even before the war. In 1938, she was a member of the famous trio of female aviators (the other two were Polina Osipenko and Marina Raskova) who made a non-stop, direct flight from Moscow to the Russian Far East.

19 Epiphany (Orthodox)

27 Sixty years ago, as we know from recent revelations of formerly secret KGB archives, Stalin’s executioners shot the writer Isaac Babel (1894-1940). For many years, he was believed to have been shot in 1941.

29 140 years ago Anton Chekhov was born (1860-1904). “No one understood so clearly and in such a subtle fashion as Anton Chekhov the tragic character of the petty things in life; nobody could portray so mercilessly the shameful and boring life in the dark chaos...” Maxim Gorky wrote on Chekhov. Chekhov wrote over 500 short stories, many saturated with a subtle yet sharp sense of humor. Indeed, Russian writer Vyacheslav Pyetsukh has said it was Chekhov who brought to fruition the short story genre. And yet, Chekhov is much more famous as a playwright (interestingly, Lev Tolstoy, who greatly admired Chekhov’s talent, advised Chekhov not to write plays). Thankfully, Chekhov ignored Tolstoy’s advice and produced plays which are still considered some of the best stage dramas ever produced (The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and especially, The Seagull)—see our Events Calendar, page 12 for several theaters in the US that are showing Chekhov plays this winter. A forthcoming issue of Russian Life will offer a lengthy portrait of this very important writer.

30 Several generations of Russians were raised on tunes by Soviet composer Isaac Dunaevsky (1900-1955), whose centenary is celebrated today. Dunaevsky, known among friends as simply “Dunya,” wrote the music for popular songs from the 1930s-1950s, including The Song about the Motherland, and Wide Is my Beloved Country. He also composed the soundtracks for such popular films as Jolly Fellows, Circus, Volga-Volga, Cossacks from Kuban and others. Dunaevsky was also one of the founders of the Soviet operetta and for a time president of the Leningrad Composers Union. In recent years, critics have accused Dunaevsky of having served Stalin’s regime, glorified it with his optimistic music. This is certainly true, but only partly so. Dunaevsky also served his people with his talent and the optimism of his joyful music can hardly be seen as fake. At the end of 1999, a special concert dedicated to the Dunaevsky’s centenary was held in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The State Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov, performed selected works from Dunaevsky’s musical heritage.

February

4 Fifty-five years ago today the USSR, the US and Great Britain began the week-long Yalta Conference, in the former tsarist Palace of Livadia, in Crimea. The summit sought to determine the principles of post-War international security. Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill agreed on several important issues: on the creation of four occupation zones in Germany (including one for France), on the convention of a founding conference of the United Nations, on Soviet entry into the war against Japan, once Germany was defeated, and on the holding of “free and unfettered” elections for a representative government in Poland. Many of the Yalta Conference’s protocols were secret at the time, including one that allowed the Soviet Union to reoccupy the Kurile Islands and southern Sakhalin. The parties also agreed on the need to destroy the Third Reich’s military industrial complex and allow “no more than minimum subsistence” to Germans, so that “Germany would never be able to break peace again.” Needless to say, the results and legacy of Yalta have been controversial for over five decades.

7 130 years ago Pyotr Struve (1870-1944) was born. A Russian economist, politician and philosopher, Struve was the son of the governor of Perm; his grandfather was a famous, German-born astronomer and founder of the Pulkovo observatory near St. Petersburg. Struve was one of the first disseminators of Marxism in Russia and backed publication of the first volume of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital in Russian. In 1917 he defended his dissertation “Economy and Price” and was elected an Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He later joined the Kadets and then the anti-Bolshevik Vrangel government. In 1920, he emigrated to Paris.

13 Today is the 75th anniversary of the Great Encyclopedia of Russia Publishing House, previously called the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Despite a somewhat notorious past, when Soviet leaders used the Great Soviet Encyclopedia to rewrite history to their liking, GERPH has survived as an authoritative source of reference and information—in fact it is one of just a handful of encyclopedic publishing houses left in the world. GERPH has also survived recent cuts in state financing and continues to publish new books with little or no state support—namely, The History of Fatherland, The New Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary,  Russian Ballet, Russian Writers, Cities of Russia and others. GERPH also has in the works a new, seven-volume comprehensive Encyclopedia of Russia.

15 Orthodox holiday of Candelmas.

18 145 years ago today, Tsar Nicholas I died (1796-1855). Nicholas’ legacy through the present day is as the “knight of autocracy” and the “policeman of Europe.” Indeed, Nicholas ruled Russia for 30 years with an iron hand, quelling the Decembrist insurrection (1825) as well as revolts in Poland (1830-31) and Hungary (1849, aiding Austria). He also imposed strict state censorship and tightly controlled the public output of such talents as Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov (using the services of the notorious Count Benckendorff, head of the Third Directorate of the Tsar’s Chancery). However, today, as the notion of “Russian statehood” receives heightened attention, Nicholas’ “antidemocratic and anti-revolutionary character” may be downplayed in favor of glorifying his military achievements against Persia and Turkey (led by General Ivan Paskevich). Yet it the war against Turkey in 1853-1856 which proved fatal for Nicholas I. France and Great Britain landed troops in the Crimea to support Turkey and, after a long and bloody seige, seized Sevastopol (now a city in Ukraine), checking Russian influence in the region. Many historians still argue that Nicholas’ death was a suicide, saying he could not live with the Crimean defeat. Thus, Nicholas I may have been yet another unnatural death among the last Romanov tsars.

23 Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland. Today is commonly celebrated as Men’s Day in Russia.