Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0004156, Tue, 8 Jun 1999 10:59:21 -0700

Subject
Pushkin Celebrations (fwd)
Date
Body
EDITOR'S COMMENT. This is not about VN but I pass it on as a cultural note
for our non-Russian audience since it reflects an important part of VN's
heritage. Literary figures have immensely more status in Russia than
elsewhere. Can you, for example, imagine such an array of activities here
over, say, Poe? This attitude certainly helped shape VN's own attitude
-----------


From: Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu>

Russians Honor Poet Pushkin's Birth

By ANGELA CHARLTON
.c The Associated Press


MOSCOW (AP) -- From Russia's prime minister to its top patriarch, Russians
around the world claimed poet Alexander Pushkin as their own Sunday to mark
the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Russia's main television channels devoted themselves almost exclusively to
the bard, with plays, operas, ballets, interviews and documentaries in his
honor. Evening newscasts led with the celebrations, calling them the main
political event of the day.

The ceremonies capped months of tributes to Pushkin, by far Russia's most
respected writer and possibly its most revered figure. He died in a duel in
1837 at the age of 37.

Sunday's main event was held in the northern Russian town of Pushkinskiye
Gory, where the poet is interred.

Thousands of Pushkin lovers, including Russian Prime Minister Sergei
Stepashin, visited the estate where the poet lived and the monastery where he
was buried.

``Today, on Pushkin's 200th birthday, we are coming to understand ourselves
once again. Let's realize that we are a strong, powerful nation,'' Stepashin
said.

``Pushkin's birth anniversary is a holiday of genuine unification. We have
few such holidays,'' he said.

He then recited a few lines from a Pushkin poem.

He wasn't alone. Hundreds of poets and authors came to Pushkinskiye Gory to
read his works. Russian children, who have been swamped with Pushkin homework
for months, showed off their knowledge of the poet's works in performances
around the country.

In Moscow, the city's main shopping thoroughfare, Tverskaya Street, was
closed for a parade that transformed into an outdoor ballroom where hundreds
of people dressed in period costumes danced to the music of Pushkin's era.

The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexy II, laid a wreath at a
Pushkin bust in the southwestern city of Tula. He glossed over Pushkin's
spotty religious background, stressing that he had nevertheless been
christened in a Moscow church.

Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov praised Pushkin for his work in the
czarist foreign service.

Russians staged a ceremony at UNESCO headquarters in Paris marking the
birthday. A statue to the poet was erected in Washington.

Pushkin fans throughout the former Soviet Union performed his works -- some
in Russian, some in Georgian, Uzbek, Ukrainian.

Monuments to Pushkin were unveiled in several Russian cities, including
Yakutsk in Siberia, Kislovodsk in the Stavropol region and Ulan-Ude, capital
of the Buryatia Republic.

AP-NY-06-06-99 1623EDT