Yuri Nagibin. A well-known writer and journalist. His books enjoy tremendous
popularity. He is the author of scripts for a number of films, differing
in style and conveying different messages, such as "Tchaikovsky"
about the famous Russian composer or "The Chairman" about life
in a collective farm, which became a legend of national cinema. "I
always thought that my writing was simple and understandable", Nagibin
wrote about himself. "I am not a formalist, I am just trying to speak
out, to exhaust my ideas and emotions". On April 3 he would've turned
60. It's been 6 years since he died, but his books will endure for ever.
"Each writer enters the life of his contemporaries in a different
way", Nagibin wrote in one of his essays. "Some slowly infiltrate
and readers are often unable to tell how it happened that one or other
author became necessary to them; others are quickly identified as good
companions: we know you little yet, but you are one of us, you are from
our age, you share our pain, our struggle, our doubts, our hopes and dreams
- and these are happy writers. And sometimes a new writer bursts into the
quietness of existence, preceded by a legend, in the glamour of his howling
success. Nagibin was a very happy writer.
My acquaintance with his prose started with two of his short stories:
"Komarov" - about a baby who is making his first steps, and "A
Girl and An Echo" - about friendship that grew into a first love.
I was 7 then, too small to understand the author's deep reflections about
the formation of character, the nature of love, the apprehension of the
world. I admired the heroes of his books, their sincerity, lust for knowledge,
perseverance. Then came other stories: the World War II cycle, the hunting
series, autobiographical stories "The Clean Ponds" and "The
Book Of Childhood", and finally "The Eternal Companions"
- a selection of stories about writers, poets and musicians of the past.
Says critic Marina Krasilnikova: "Yuri Nagibin is no doubt a major
prosaist of the second half of the 20-th century. You can find that in
all literary reference books and textbooks. As for the place he occupies
on the writers' Table of Ranks, I really can't say. To my mind, writers
mustn't be compared by their merits or talent to determine which of them
is greater. Talent is from God. Nagibin did have it".
His talent manifested itself in his early story "The Whip"
published in the Moscow Almanach magazine in 1941 when Nagibin was 20.
It's about a 10-year-old urban boy and his first acquaintance with village.
The new world around him seems hostile and dangerous to the boy. He feels
awkward and weak, and thinks that if only he had a whip, he would be able
to control this world. Finally he gets it, and as he snaps it, he accidentally
kills a white cock. The boy, feeling sorry for the poor bird, bursts into
tears. He no longer wants to demonstrate his power over the world of animals
and plants, so defenseless and fragile, so close to suffering and death,
that nothing would restore a life taken away by a whip's crack.
"Nagibin was a master of small prose. This genre is also known
as Russian novella", says Marina Krasilnikova. "He is often compared
with the king of short story Anton Chekhov: the same moral exactingness
and respect for man..."
Some critics note that unlike Chekhov Nagibin always sympathizes with
his characters. This is how he portrays scientific worker Yegoshin in "A
Trip To The Islands": "There were rare moments when he realized
how silly, out-dated and ridiculous his habits, behaviour and his entire
appearance look to surrounding people, but he never took it close to heart.
There were so many beautiful things in the world: poetry, prose, paintings,
music, beautiful faces, the sun, the sky, the clouds... Besides, there
was the past. If he makes a small effort, he can argue with the Greek philosopher
Socrates, help Tzar Peter I fabricate lumber, dance a minuet with the French
Queen Marie Antoinette... Compared with this, all these petty things people
go into to poison eath other's lives aren't worth thinking about".
Says Marina Krasilnikova: "In his youth Nagibin was profoundly
influenced by the well-known 20-th century writer Andrei Platonov. Nagibin
admitted that for a long time he had been trying to imitate Platonov. Later
he fiercely struggled to etch this imitation from his thoughts and phrases.
Platonov knew about that. He was a friend of Nagibin's stepfather and a
frequent guest in their home. When a St.-Petersburg critic wrote about
Nagibin that "like his teacher Platonov, he believes that the power
of literature is in words", Platonov reacted seriously, saying "I
am no teacher. And you mustn't learn from me. As soon as you become a bit
like me, you are done for". Nagibin appreciated his advice."
"But his juvenile fondness for Platonov was not wasted on Nagibin.
Much like Platonov, Nagibin fostered with loving care every sentence of
his prose. His works, even the early ones, are stylistically impeccable",
says Marina Krasilnikova.
The themes taken up by Nagibin range from war and rural life to history
and music. Some critics argued that the range was too wide. In one of his
latest interviews Nagibin explained: "Some believe that if you are
a "rural" writer, than you should write about village and leave
urban themes to others, that it's no use shifting from one theme to another.
I am strongly against such recommendations. They water down a writer's
potential. I do not regret taking up many themes. I wish I wrote more"
.
RUSSIAN CARTOONIST ALEXANDR
PETROV WINS AN OSCAR
On March 30 the Russian cartoon-maker and Oscar winner Alexandr
Petrov returned to Moscow from Los-Angeles. The same day he gave an interview
on NTV television.
"I was happy to represent Russia at the Oscar ceremony, happy
that the Oscar went to a Russian cartoon. I feel proud that I am a Russian
animator", said Alexandr Petrov. "I've got many prizes. The first
of them is the Grand-Prix of the Russian-Ukrainian animated cartoon festival
Krok. It was followed by several other festivals where I also took prizes.
Attending the Oscar ceremony together with me were my producers from Japan
and Canada. They handed me prizes from their own countries. So I returned
to Russia with an armful of awards".
Alexandr Petrov's cartoon "The Old Man and The Sea" was sponsored
by Japanese and Canadian producers. The film can be shown only in cinema
houses equipped with the IMAX system. The Canadian side made special equipment
for Petrov to draw pictures for his film that could be projected onto a
huge IMAX screen. I was strongly against it until I saw my sketches in
a full-size format. I didn't believe the format would produce such an impression
on me. I decided to have a try".
The film consists of 29 thousand pictures, all of which Petrov drew
by hand using the "animated painting" technology. He dipped a
finger into slow-drying oil paint and applied it to a piece of glass. In
Alexandr's opinion, a filigree pattern created by fingertips is the shortest
way from heart to the image.
"Today they are my only instrument always accessible and making
me comfortable", Alexandr said about his hands. "Perhaps some
day new computer programs will be invented that will do it better than
me."
After the award ceremony in Los-Angeles Alexandr Petrov, who had spent
a few years in Canada, decided to return to his native city Yaroslavl in
central Russia. "I've got plenty of offers", he said, "but
I set myself the task of bringing my Canadian producers to Russia and make
them work with me here. At first they refused, but now they have changed
their minds. So I can start making new films here in Russia. And I also
want to set up an animation studio in Yaroslavl".
During the award ceremony Petrov was so excited that he forgot the
speech he had prepared for the occasion. He repeated it on NTV: "I
simply wanted to express my gratitude to all my teachers. They are all
masters of cartoon-making: Fedor Khitruk, Yuri Norshtein, Eduard Nazarov
and my art professor Boris Nemensky. I wanted to thank my fellow cartoon
makers with whom I started working on "The Old Man And The Sea".
It's our joint victory".
THE PUSHKIN AGE IN PORTRAITS
An exhibition of paintings at the Dom Naschokina
art gallery
By Milena Faustova
An exhibition of paintings to commemorate the forthcoming bicentenary
of Pavel Naschokin - a nobleman, art collector and close friend of Pushkin
- is under way at the Dom Naschokina art gallery in Moscow.
Pavel Naschokin was a heart and sole of the artistic elite in St.-Petersburg
and Moscow. Among his frequent guests were Alexandr Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol,
painters Carl Brullov and Orest Kiprensky, well-known composers and musicians.
They dropped in to have a chat with the master and look at his collection.
Of special interest was the miniature model of Naschokin's house made by
Naschokin himself.
Says the gallery's director Natalia Rurikova: "The model is an
exact copy of Naschokin's house - a two-storeyed building with beautiful
paintings on the walls, funiture, silver services, a samovar and even a
pack of cards. The smallest details are no more than 4 centimeters long.
Naschokin wanted to give it to Pushkin's wife Natalia Goncharova on her
birthday. But by that time he had been broke and the present had to be
pawned. Naschokin was a very generous man, always ready to help when his
friends got into trouble. He lent money and forgot about it. When he himself
was in trouble, all Moscow and St.-Petersburg bohemians came to his rescue".
Only a part of Naschokin's collection of paintings and porcelain has
survived till nowadays - some items were given away as presents, others
were sold to pay his debts. His Moscow house is a living reminiscence of
the early 19-th century romanticism.
The current exhibit features some 50 masterpieces by Ivan Aivazovsky,
Fedor Bruni, Carl Brullov, Alexei Benetsianov, Orest Kiprensky and other
Russian painters. On display are furniture, decorative bronze and 19-th
century costumes. Says museum worker Grigory Goldovsky: "Romanticists
defied academic traditions, striving to bring out some extraordinary features
of human soul, nature and history. They took an individualistic approach
to art. Romanticism in Russia was broader and more diffused than the French
romanticism. The latter emerged during the Great French revolution. In
Russia romanticism was less determined by historical events".
Most Russian romanticists sought inspiration in the art of Ancient
Greece and Renaissance. Painter Feodosy Yanenko, for instance, depicted
himself in a Roman helmet and armor, his shoulders covered by a red cloak
- a symbol of victory.
