May and June in Russian History

1953

may 2

Today Valery Gergiev, one of Russia’s most prominent symphonic and operatic conductors, turns 50. At 24, Gergiev won the Conductors’ International Competition, held by Herbert von Karajan’s Fund. Chief conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre since 1988 and a capable artistic director, Gergiev became the head of the theatre in 1996. His musical priorities, as a conductor, are the works of Modest Musorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Peter Tchaikovsky. Gergiev recently collaborated with Andron Konchalovsky to stage Sergei Prokofiev’s  War and Peace. Often a guest conductor with orchestras around the world, Gergiev is also Principal Guest Conductor at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

1873

may 3

This is the birthday of composer and conductor Nikolai Cherepnin, who was the first in Russia to offer instruction in conducting. From 1905 to 1918 he taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, where Sergei Prokofiev (see Russian Life, Mar/Apr 2003) was one of his students. In 1921 Cherepnin emigrated to France and became one of the founders of the Russian Conservatoire in Paris. Cherepnin promoted Russian classical music abroad and debuted the new works of émigré composers. His original ballets “Armida’s Pavilion” and “Narcissus and the Echo,” as well as his symphonic poems based on the Russian fairy-tale “The Enchanted Kingdom,” and his sacred music all received wide acclaim in Paris. Cherepnin died outside Paris in 1945.

1903

may 3

This year marks the centennial of Alexandra Remizova, theatre director and actress. Remizova made her debut as an actress at the Vakhtangov Theatre, but in the mid 1930s she turned to directing. During World War II, she traveled all the way from Stalingrad to Berlin with the front-lines branch of the Vakhtangov Theatre. After the war, she taught acting and staged not only Soviet drama, but also such famous works as “Les Miserables,” by Victor Hugo, “The Idiot,” by Fyodor Dostoevsky and “Untitled Play,” by Anton Chekhov. Remizova died in Moscow in 1989.

1868

may 6

On this day Nicholas II, the last Russian Emperor, who ruled from 1894 to 1917, was born.

1903

may 7

Today is the centennial of landscape painter Nikolai Romadin (1903-1987). Romadin experienced the influence of the “Russian Painters’ Union” pictorial style, which inspired him to create impressionistic and symbolic images from ordinary landscapes. He first gained fame with his Volga Russian River cycle of pictures created during WWII — “Village Khmelyovka” (1944), “The Last Ray” (1945). Romadin was also interested in genre scenes and interiors, often lit by moonlight or candlelight (e.g. “The Red Interior,” 1958). Many of his landscapes are exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery.

1913

may 11

Today Andrei Severny (1913-1987), astrophysicist, member of the International Astronautics Academy and Professor of the Moscow State University, was born. His principal works are dedicated to the physics of the sun. Severny took part in preparatory work for the construction of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, where he designed the sun telescope and some other devices for astrophysical observation of the sun. Severny was the first to organize systematic observations of the sun as a star.

1933

may 12

Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky turns 70 today. Voznesensky initially wanted to be an artist and later studied architecture at the Moscow Architectural Institute. The thematic range of Voznesensky’s poetry is rather wide, yet war, death, violence and injustice are among his main foci. His best-known collections include Mosaics (1960), Anti-Worlds (1964) and Axioms of Self-Action (1990).

1828

may 12

On this day writer Sofia Dmitrievna Khvoshchinskaya was born in Pronsky district, Ryazan Province. Well-known to readers of Russia’s “thick journals” in the 1850s and ‘60s under her pen name Ivan Vesenev, she, along with her better-known sister, Nadezhda, (pen name V. Krestovsky) was one of the few widely published female authors in Russia in the 19th century. Sofia’s memoirs of her school days at Moscow’s Catherine Institute have been published in English in the anthology Russia through Women’s Eyes, and her best novel, City Folks and Country Folks will also appear soon in English. Nadezhda’s Boarding School Girl has also been published in English. In addition to publishing fiction and social commentary, Sofia was a self-taught painter, whose best-known artistic work was her portrait of painter A. A. Ivanov.  Khvoshchinskaya died at the age of 37.

1783

may 13

On this day, the Russian Navy first sailed on the Black Sea. The ships of the Azovskaya flotilla, soon to form the main body of the navy, entered the Tatar bay of Akhtiar, where the city and harbor of Sevastopol was founded that same year.

1738

may 15

On this day, the St. Petersburg Dancing School was founded. The school, which today belongs to the Academy of Russian Ballet, bears the name of the famous dancer Agrippina Vaganova. Some of Russia’s most famous dancers graduated from this school, including Anna Pavlova, Avdotya Istomina, Vatslav Nizhinsky and Galina Ulanova.

1848

may 15

Viktor Vasnetsov, an artist whose works reveal an important facet of Russia’s art during the Russian Revival, was born on this day. Initially, as a member of the “Itinerants,” a progressive art movement, Vasnetsov painted many genre scenes, but by 1880 he was focusing on fairy tale and historical scenes. He is best known for such paintings as “The Knights” (1881-1898), “Alyonushka” (1881), “Tsar Ivan Vasilevich the Terrible” (1897), and “The Frog-Tsarevna” (1901-1918). Vasnetsov also developed principles of Russian national art in architecture. Both the small church in Abramtsevo (see Russian Life, Mar/Apr 2002) and the façade of the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow are based on his drawings. Vasnetsov died in 1926.

1988

may 15

Soviet troops began to withdraw from Afganistan. The USSR had invaded this country to its south in December 1979. According to official data, Soviet casualties included more than 15,000 dead and missing and some 54,000 wounded.

1703

may 16

300 years ago, Peter the Great founded his fortress at St. Petersburg, named for the Apostle Peter. Later, the fortress was renamed Petropavlovskaya (Peter and Paul) and the city received the former name of the fortress.

1948

may 18

55 years ago, the Soviet Union was the first among the Great Powers to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. As soon as Israel’s founding was announced on May 15, 1948, the US and USSR de facto recognized Israel. The Soviet Union was the first to recognize Israel de jure, which did not, however, twice prevent a severing of diplomatic relations (in 1953 and 1967).

1938

may 26

Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, contemporary Russian writer, turns 65 today. Her first story “The Story of Clarissa,” was published in 1972. Since then, her works have been translated into many foreign languages. Petrushevskaya’s stories, which focus on everyday lives, are naturalistic and have a marked element of absurdity, surrealism and horror. She is also a writer of plays — her most famous is “Three Girls in Blue” (1980); poetry (“Karamzin,” 1980) and modern fairy tales (“Tales for All the Family,” 1993). Her plays have been staged in Russia and abroad.

1883

may 27

On this day, Moscow’s Historical Museum was opened. A number of prominent Russian scholars took part in its creation. Today it houses unique collections of weapons, costumes, documents, jewelry, gold and silver tableware and china, many of which are on display.

1223

may 31

On this day, the Mongols first appeared in Kievan Rus and met with Russian princes’ troops near the river Kalka. The forces of Kievan Rus lost the battle of Kalka partly because of internal discord.

1903

june 4

Today is the centenary of Soviet poet Mikhail Svetlov, whose works presented a romantic and sacrificial view of the 1917 Revolution. His early poems (“Grenada,” 1927, “The Big Road,” 1928) are distinguished by irony and unexpected figurativeness that is close to the genre of a ballad. In the 1960s, he sought to escape from the horrors of Soviet life through drink. Svetlov was a great wit, and many of his jokes are remembered even today. He died in Moscow in 1964.

1873

june 4

This is also the birthday of soprano Antonina Nezhdanova. After graduating from the Moscow Conservatoire in 1902, Nezhdanova made her debut at the Bolshoi Theatre as Antonida, in Mikhail Glinka’s opera “Life for the Tsar.” Among her most famous parts are The Queen of the Night (“The Magic Flute,” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), Tatyana (“Yevgeny Onegin,” by Peter Tchaikovsky), and Ninetta (“Love of Three Oranges,” by Sergei Prokofiev). She appeared on the stage with such world-famous singers as Fyodor Shalyapin and Leonid Sobinov, often accompanied by Sergei Rakhmaninov. After the 1917 Revolution, Nezhdanova continued singing at the Bolshoi. In 1924 she took part in the first nationally-broadcast radio concert, which inaugurated a long series of radio appearances. Nezhdanova was the only female singer to perform in the Synodal Choir concerts of sacred music. Before 1917, women had not been allowed to sing in any religious choirs, except those at convents and institutes. She died in Moscow in 1950.

1803

june 20

200 years ago, the first hot air balloon took off in Russia, piloted by French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin. The balloon ascended twice in St. Petersburg (on June 20 and July 8, 1803) and once in Moscow (September 20, 1803).

1933

june 20

On this day, the Belomoro-Baltiysky Canal was opened. The 227 km canal connects the White Sea and Lake Onega and has a tragic history: it was built by prisoners, many of whom died because of horrible work conditions. Celebrated Soviet and foreign guests, including Maxim Gorky and Romain Rolland, were specially invited to visit the canal and bought the propaganda line that the canal was a heroic and voluntary deed of the Soviet people.

1963

june 20

On this day the Moscow-Washington Hotline was established as a positive consequence of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1908

june 30

On this day, the Tunguska meteorite impacted near Krasnoyarsk (Siberia). It is considered to be one of the most mysterious events of the 20th century, as no meteorite fragments or crater were ever discovered.