RUSSIAN CULTURE NAVIGATOR

english
win1251
KOI8
By Lyubov Kuznetsova
One day historians will say that Valentin Rasputin was one of the brightest stars on the Russian literary sky of the 1970s-1980s. Rasputin belongs to the so-called village prose group, along with such famous writers as Viktor Astafiev, Vasily Belov and Fyodor Abramov. Though the agitation around the group and its prose has long subsided, the personalities, such as Valentin Rasputin, continue to arouse interest.
Born in a small village in Irkutsk Region, and having lived most of his life in Siberia, Rasputin has devoted much of his writing to the Siberian village and its residents. The Siberians have always been the focus of his attention. In his novel "A Farewell to Matyora" wise old women, who live on an island in the middle of the powerful Angara River, believe that all the beauty of the world has concentrated in these parts. They refuse to leave the island even when an electric power station is to be built nearby and the island is to be flooded. The women refuse to have a new life, they don't want changes and believe that all that was good in their lives remains in the past. They stay with the island, and together become part of a legend.
Rasputin's best novels, "Live and Remember", "A Farewell to Matyora", "The Last Term" were published in Spain, Norway, France, Finland, Germany, the United States, Sweden and Japan. In 1977 the writer received the USSR State Prize, the country's most prestigious award. Then, at 40, the writer was at the height of his success. In the decade that followed Rasputin's books went through several editions and were repeatedly staged. The writer did not trust stage interpreters and made his own stage versions. 1986 saw the premiere of the movie "A Farewell", shot by the prominent Russian director Elem Klimov on the basis of "A Farewell to Matyora". 1991 became another landmark in Rasputin's career, when after ten years of work he published a social-political book, "Siberia". "This is a book of essays, yet it's a work of belles-letters," says Rasputin. "Working on it, I lost all sense of reality and plunged into the realm of purely artistic prose. It is made up as an album with illustrations. It so happened that the book was published abroad, for one, in the United States. In this country it went unnoticed." The book contains a great deal of amazing information on the ethnography, ecology, and geography of Siberia. On foot, by car, and by boat Rasputin had covered hundreds of kilometers through taiga, tundra , across Lake Baikal to study the history of Siberian cities, folklore of the peoples living on this enormous territory.
After "Siberia", as the writer himself put it, his "creative laboratory was sealed." This, however, is true about large works. As for the short-stories, which started his literary career, Rasputin continues to write them, though recently he has published but a few. "For some writers there are no bad times," says Rasputin. "They remain involved with literature and the creative process, no matter what may be taking place around. They just continue writing, and not badly at all. I belong to others, those who cannot write if anything is wrong either in your soul or in the outside world. In the situation we live today the temperature of the heart, the temperature of the soul do not allow me to become fully engaged in writing."
The economic crisis, and even more, the difficulties and contradictions in the development of Russian culture and the spiritual life of society are the eternal source of the writer's mental anguish. The way he takes reality has always had painted in tragic colors. His characters, residents of an old Siberian village, are not happy people, and the author gives them all his love and compassion. "We must speak about our misfortunes, but also we must inspire hope," the writer says. "The reader needs hope. He is looking for it in his own heart and outside. A happy ending is not necessary. One of the critics dubbed me "a tear-provoking talent", slightly derisively, perhaps. Well, I don't mind. What's wrong with the ability to make people cry with compassion?" Rasputin does not accept the radical changes launched by Gorbachev more than ten years ago. His opinion is that the western model of civilization does not suit this country. Russia, he believes, should look for its own way of economic and cultural development, with due regard for traditions, the national character, and the spiritual experience of the Russian people. In the recent years Rasputin has often appeared before his audiences as a publicist concerned with political issues.
Since the 19th century writers in Russia have always played a very special role in public life. The great Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Turgenev were rulers of people's minds. In the 20th century many have laid claims to this role, but only a few had good reason for this. The past decade has seen such sweeping political and economic changes that literature largely lost its influence on people's minds. Yet Russians continue to be one of the most reading nations in the world, and Valentin Rasputin helps many to believe that good will prevail in the long run .
 
 


MANIFESTS AND MYSTERIES

(an exhibition of the Italian painter Carlo Carra)

 

by Valery Platonov
In the former Soviet Union Russian was a means of communication between the various ethnic groups. It maintained its status in the post-Soviet space. However the Russian authorities began to coordinate state support for the unique instrument of integration between the newly independent countries only recently.
To counter the processes of disintegration in the Commonwealth of Independent States the former rector of the Friendship University Vladimir Filippov called for using three directions of integration: culture, economics and education better. There is a need to support the Russian language in the CIS countries not only as the envoy of the great Russian people and Russian culture, but also for more pragmatic reasons - to promote economic integration.
The experience of France and Germany in terms of maintaining and spreading their languages in the countries belonging to the zone of their cultural and economic influence is well known. The establishment of Goethe Institutes designed to promote German at the German embassies in 150 countries is impressive. The English language is so widely spread evidently thanks to the economic might of English-speaking nations.
Russian education can serve as a unifying element in the CIS space in conditions of the economic crisis Russia is going through.
"Education is what every family seeks to give its children," said Vladimir Filippov. "And we know that Russian education, Soviet education, remains one of the world's best as a system. According to a poll conducted by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 65 industrialized countries, Russia stands second or third for the level of education in schools and colleges, which was revealed by means of comparing the results of international Olympiads involving schoolchildren's teams from various nations.
The same role of integration is played by Russian sciences. Many scientists from CIS countries seek to defend their dissertations in Russia with a view to gaining a candidate's or doctor's degree from Russia's Highest Certification Commission, since these countries' certification commissions and the degrees they accord are not known to the European and world community.
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed this year an agreement on reciprocally admitting students to their schools of higher learning. This will stimulate students from these countries to learn Russian, since to join a university or college in Russia one must pass an exam in Russian. In the meantime hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren seek to join Russian schools of higher learning.
Russia's Ministry of Education is willing to give hundreds of student grants to our young compatriots living abroad. All CIS countries can obtain such student grants. Moreover, the ministry is working out in the framework of its Russian language sector a program for maintaining the qualification of Russian teachers. Russia's Ministry of Education is ready to allot hundreds of student grants to enable such teachers to come to Russia.
Last February the government of Yevgeny Primakov issued a resolution to resume the work of the Commission for supporting compatriots living abroad. A major goal of its activity will be to maintain the Russian language in the CIS countries. A federal program to be adopted this year, when the nation celebrates the 200th birth anniversary of Alexander Pushkin, the most revered Russian poet from whose works the contemporary Russian literary language originates, will make it possible for all the governmental institutions designed to support Russian to join their efforts .
 
 

 
 
 
 

BACK TO MAIN PAGE