Andrei Voznesensky

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Andrei Andevich Voznesensky (Russian) was a Soviet and Russian poet and writer who had been described by Robert Lowell as "one of the best living poets in any language" on May 12th, 1933-2010. He was one of the "Children of the Sixties," a new generation of influential Russian intellectuals led by Khrushchev Thaw.

Voznesensky was once regarded as "one of the most innovative writers of the Soviet period," but his style attracted constant criticism from his peers, and Nikita Khrushchev threatened him with expulsion. He performed poetry readings in front of sold-out stadiums around the world and was admired for his promptness. W. H. Auden's translation of some of his poems was translated into English. Boris Pasternak, the Nobel Laureate and the author of Doctor Zhivago, was Voznesensky's long-serving mentor and muse.

He was both critically and popularly proclaimed "a living masterpiece" and "an icon of Soviet intellectuals" before his death.

Personal life

Voznesensky was born in Moscow. His father was a professor of electronics, but his mother influenced him early on by reading poetry in his presence. His grandfather served during World War II. Voznesensky was fascinated with painting and architecture in his youth, graduating from the Moscow Architectural Institute with a degree in engineering. His passion for poetry, on the other hand, was much greater. "I Am Fourteen" – when the poet was still a teenager, he sent his poems to Boris Pasternak; "My life took on a magical meaning and a sense of destiny," the young poet wrote; "I Am Fourteen" — "years of joy and childish adoration followed him." "Your entry into literature was quick and turbulent," Pasternak, who died in 1960, paid him the greatest respect. I'm glad I've been able to see it."

Voznesensky became more reserved in nature in later years. Several years ago, he had suffered a stroke years before his death. In early 2010, he is reported to have suffered another stroke.

Voznesensky died on June 1 at the age of 77. Gennady Ivanov, the Union of Writers of Russia's secretary, declared that he had died peacefully in his house. A cause of death was unassalled. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, wrote a letter of condolences. According to a telegram sent by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Voznesensky had "actually become a person of swaying power." Many senior Russian officials and cultural organizations had paid their respects to many others.

Zoya Boguslavskaya, Voznesensky's wife, outlived him. He was buried in the Moscow Novodevichy Cemetery on June 4, 2010.

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Career

Voznesensky's style was considered different from his contemporaries in the Soviet Union.

His first poems were published in 1958, and these immediately reflected his unique style. His lyrics are characterized by his tendency "to measure" the contemporary person by modern categories and images, by the eccentricity of metaphors, by the complex rhythmical system and sound effects. Vladimir Mayakovsky and Pablo Neruda have been cited among the poets who influenced him most.

The Goya-inspired "I Am Goya" was an early Voznesensky effort, and went on to achieve considerable recognition for its impressions of the fear and horror attached to war, as demonstrated by its Russian metaphors and recurring "g" sounds. Another early poem, "Fire in the Architecture Institute", was inspired by a 1957 night fire at the Institute of Architecture in Moscow. Voznesensky later said: "I believe in symbols. I understood that architecture was burned out in me. I became a poet".

Voznesensky was one of several young Russian intellectuals whom Nikita Khrushchev invited to a reception hosted by the ruling Communist Party in December 1962. Khrushchev scathingly remarked on Voznesensky at the ceremony: "Just look at this new Pasternak! You want to get a [foreign] passport tomorrow? You want it? And then go away, go to the dogs! Go, go there". In 1963, his fame blossomed and he became "as popular as The Beatles" after Khrushchev publicly and falsely branded him a pervert.

In the 1960s, during the so-called Thaw, Voznesensky frequently travelled abroad: to France, Germany, Italy, the United States and other countries. The popularity of Voznesensky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Bella Akhmadulina was marked by their performances in front of the adoring crowds numbering in the thousands at stadiums, in concert halls and universities. In doing so, he served as "a sort of unofficial Kremlin cultural envoy", according to The New York Times. His poetry reading skills were profound. He competed with Laurence Olivier and Paul Scofield at one show in London. He criticized the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. While in the United States, he met Allen Ginsberg, Arthur Miller, and Marilyn Monroe.

Voznesensky's friendship with many contemporary writers, artists and other intellectuals is reflected in his poetry and essays. He is known to wider audiences for the superhit Million of Scarlet Roses that he penned for Alla Pugacheva in 1984 and for the hugely successful rock opera Juno and Avos (1979), based on the life and death of Nikolai Rezanov.

His creations have been turned into works of theatre. One collection of his poems, "Antimiry" ("Anti-worlds") served as the basis for a famous performance at the Taganka Theatre in 1965. "Save your Faces" was performed at the same venue. "Juno and Avos" was performed at the Lenin's Komsomol Theater (now Lenkom). Others on foreign territory.

Ukrainian composer Tamara Maliukova Sidorenko (1919-2005) set some of his poems to music.

In 1978 Voznesensky was awarded the USSR State Prize. He is an honorable member of ten academies, including the Russian academy of learning (1993), the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Parisian Académie Goncourt and others.

On Tuesday, 23 December 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev bestowed a state award upon Voznesensky at the Kremlin.

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Honours and awards

• Order "For Merit to the Fatherland";
  • 2nd class (5 May 2008) - for outstanding achievements in the development of literature and many years of creative activity
  • 3rd class (15 January 2004) - for outstanding contribution to the development of national literature
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1983)
• USSR State Prize (1978) - a collection of "stained glass maker" (1976)
• Voznesensky is an honorary member of ten academies around the world, including the Russian Academy of Education (1993), the American Academy of Literature and Art, the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, the Paris Academy Goncourt brothers and the European Academy of Poetry
• Golden Badge of Honour "Public Recognition" (2003)