Subject
Comments on two Vladimirs on Russian TV (fwd)
Date
Body
From: Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu>
I happened to see an ITOGI program for April 21 this afternoon on cable.
That date being the eve of Lenin's birthday, they had a segment on how the
event used to be celebrated in Soviet times and what people think of Lenin
now. They asked several students at Moscow University -- and one replied:
"I hate Lenin. If you read Vladimir Nabokov and especially his
autobiography, DRUGIE BEREGA [i.e. the Russian version of Speak, Memory],
you would know what Lenin and his revolution had put an end to!"
This is, of course, a rather idealized version of the pre-revolutionary
times, since, after all, Nabokov's privileged childhood should not be an
indicator of much, but there was lots of conviction in the young man's
voice. I expected then that someone would point out that Nabokov's own
birthday was only a day after Lenin's, but, in an ironic reversal of
cultural taboos, it was probably judged as poor taste both by the young
man and the reporter to mention VN's and VL's birthdays on the same
breath.
Galya Diment
I happened to see an ITOGI program for April 21 this afternoon on cable.
That date being the eve of Lenin's birthday, they had a segment on how the
event used to be celebrated in Soviet times and what people think of Lenin
now. They asked several students at Moscow University -- and one replied:
"I hate Lenin. If you read Vladimir Nabokov and especially his
autobiography, DRUGIE BEREGA [i.e. the Russian version of Speak, Memory],
you would know what Lenin and his revolution had put an end to!"
This is, of course, a rather idealized version of the pre-revolutionary
times, since, after all, Nabokov's privileged childhood should not be an
indicator of much, but there was lots of conviction in the young man's
voice. I expected then that someone would point out that Nabokov's own
birthday was only a day after Lenin's, but, in an ironic reversal of
cultural taboos, it was probably judged as poor taste both by the young
man and the reporter to mention VN's and VL's birthdays on the same
breath.
Galya Diment