Translated material
If not lemons, then who?
Tomorrow Eduard Limonov turns 70 years old.
I always considered him one of the largest modern writers, whose contribution to Russian literature has yet to be appreciated. Perhaps this is not one of the largest. Moreover, this applies to both his prose and verses. Despite the fact that his left-radical political views are not at all close to me, and many statements of recent times are not especially close.
At the very beginning of perestroika with him in Paris, at some writing conference, one of my friends-young poets accidentally met. It seems that it was Oleg Khlebnikov, but I can’t vouch. I arrived with big eyes: I saw Limonov himself! The older generation, of course, remembered him, and those who had the opportunity to leave, for example Yevtushenko, saw him often in America and Paris, where he later settled.
Everyone knew in the emigration of Limonov, but even close friends treated him ironically, so, returning to Moscow, Limonov first began to fight for a serious attitude.
Artist Mihial Shemyakin recalled:
“He came to me with two girls, brought a lot of drinks. He tore my work and at the very height of fun suddenly said:“ I’m bored with you, I’m leaving. ”I say:“ Since you, lemon, leave, take your b .... th ”. He says:“ You’ll figure it out yourself, and I leave. ”I repeat to him:“ Either you stay with us, or I will give you it, otherwise I will give you physiognomy. "And he lit up him very much. And in the morning he called and said:" You have broken my jaw. "Since then I have beaten him several more times, but not very much." Question correspondent: "For what?" - "I don’t remember already. Most likely, for the matter."
I did not read Limonov then, until Alexander Shatalov began to print his texts in the “verb”, a book behind the book. In principle, all of them by that time had already come out in Russian in the West, but Shatalov, as I understand it, was not particularly conceived about compliance with the rights, although everything was done with the silent consent of the author. In principle, if Limonov had at least a little business grip, he would be a very wealthy person to today. But the matter, apparently, is not in frivolity, but in hatred of everything bourgeois. Money is so bourgeois.
Once, in those distant times, we sat in the Central House of Artists with Evgeny Popov and Boris Messerer in a restaurant. Suddenly Messerer jumps up in surprise: "Yes, this is Odica!" And he runs to hug him. Limonov, by the way, was sitting there in a completely liberal environment. He seemed to me much younger than his years. Almost a young man. My wife, who was present at the same time, was terribly surprised: “Yes, I was sewing with his trousers,” and reminded me of some old country trousers that had experienced all the stormy years of Edichkina's emigration, were so qualitatively made. Then they went into the category of a sexual rag, and also for a long time served us in a new quality. I began to convince her that she was probably mistaken, then I read it from Limonov that he really earned the sewing of youth styles to leave before leaving.
Some more time passed. Immediately after the 1991 putsch, emigrant writers tumbled down in Moscow, until recently forbidden, but now widely printed in thick magazines. The Russian Radio Liberty service arrived almost in full force. And then Zinovy Zinik arrived. And since he and I saw in London at the BBC, I was on the list of a van on the occasion of his arrival, organized by the British council in the library of foreign literature. There were many interesting characters. In particular, I noticed E. Limonov there (by the way, at that time he had no beard and mustache).
We stood with the late Alik Batchan and just talked about Lemonov when someone showed him to me. He immediately flew up:
- How could you portray Anpilova in the form of a monkey?! (I had in mind the cover of the magazine "Capital") Okay, someone, but not Anpilov to portray a monkey! This is a crystal clean person! This is a model of human decency! Romantic and idealist!
I tried to explain that every day I see the spraying saliva and carrying full Akhina Anpilov at the meetings of the Moscow City Council and managed to compile his opinion for a long time, as well as the readers of our magazine. But the slide continued:
- If there is an honest politician in Russia, then this is Anpilov! The masses follow him! You spat in the very soul of the people! You will see, he will become the leader of the level of Lenin!
- Well, do you like Lenin? - Affected, I ask.
- Lenin is a crystal pure person! This is a model of human decency! Romantic and idealist! .. - And everything is like that.
I must say that the National-Bolshevik party then, apparently, did not exist. At least I did not know anything about her. I knew about Eduard Limonov only from his works, from which it was difficult to conclude about his relevant political beliefs. I left this evening completely shocked, believing that Limonov was simply original. Even the battleships, who knew Limonov since American times, was surprised. By the way, the pseudonym Limonov was invented by the artist Vagrich Bakhchanyan.
Gradually, the veil over Limon's views dispelled. Limonov eagerly gave interviews, newspapers were filled with them. It turned out that he was “red -brown” (then there was such a difficult to strengthened label). The liberal public, which at first on a bang met his return, stopped communicating with him. Actually, he did not need this communication. He focused with the Eurasian and the Imperial Dugin. Together they founded the National-Bolshevik party in 1993 (both words in the name scared), then the Limonka newspaper began to appear. But on the pages of the magazine "Capital" we gave him a word - given the writer's merits. As a courier, Taras Ratko, a skinny young man from Tver, came from him. I was interested in talking to him, because I knew about the existence of young radicals, but I did not see their eyes, and even more so I did not have to communicate. Then suddenly one close acquaintance took and joined the Limon Party, he brought me a "lemon". I perceived this newspaper as an artistic project, very successful, and gradually came to the conclusion that NBP is a solid, very stylish artistic project. No more.
This impression was quickly dispelled. After Limonov and his eagles took part in the riots of 1993. And when the landings later began, it became clear that everything was serious with them. Limonov volunteered to Yugoslavia, and Transnistria, and to Abkhazia, and not as a front -line correspondent, "with a watering can and a notebook", but as an active participant in events, "and even with a machine gun." At the same time, he found time to write books. The books were magnificent. Like prose. And in my mind, Limonov’s image was more and more bifurcated, and although he began to transfer his political beliefs into many texts, I still soon perceived him as two different characters.
Many (including me) initially condemned Limonov for pushing young people to prison, and he parasitizes on broken fate. This opinion lasted exactly until the summer of 2001, when the FSB planted him himself. Waiting for the court, he sat in Lefortovo for two years (for political affairs we are in no hurry), then he received 4 years for storing weapons. By the way, they tried to attribute to him the article for which Kvachkov was recently condemned - “preparation of an armed uprising”, but in court this charges were not proved, otherwise he would not have escaped so easily. Surely played a role in a great public outcry, including protests by large Western cultural figures. “Russian Pen-Center” must give him his due, despite the fact that only liberals dug up there, consistently fought for the liberation of Limonov, I also had to sign some collective appeals. It is known that Shemyakin mentioned above went to Putin with a request to free Limonov. The fact that the case was cast artificially and Limonov became the victim of the provocateur was clear to everyone. In short, in the end he was released at parole. But after the prison of Limonov, they stopped blaming for the fact that he was driving young people to the slaughter. Even their parents did not do and do this.
Limonov, contrary to the expectations of Gabuha, left prison already completely brutalized. There were just some elections. Evgeny Popov told me, who himself from Krasnoyarsk, how the meeting of local communists with Limonov took place there. Limonov pushed incendiary speech about the collapse of the Soviet Union, about the vile of Chubais, about the dancing under the American tune of Putin, called for vote for Zyuganov and tore off the storm of applause. His books were sold in the lobby. Including "this I am Oddichka" (which, as you know, in foreign languages was called "the Russian poet prefers big blacks"). You can imagine how much the elderly communists survived when this book was opened at home.
On May 1, the Limonov Party will turn 20 years old. It is actually prohibited. That is, it works as if underground. It is believed that the NBP entered the "other Russia" - an organization with a wider social base. But I think they have some kind of autonomy there. Otherwise, it would be necessary to reckon the National Bolsheviks of Kasparov and Kasyanov.
Limon National Bolsheviks are the most persecuted part of the Russian opposition. There, not only dozens of people are sitting for anything, but many simply killed cops and substituted bandits. The most famous is the case of Yuri Chervochkin, but he is far from the only one. The official investigation in the Chervochkin case did not lead to any results, although the names of all those involved in the murder are well known and repeatedly published in the press. Limonov constantly reminds us of all the repressed National Economic Development, preventing the names of their political prisoners. But his army is a few and it has no real influence on the situation in the country. One could understand Limonov, who on December 10, 2011 saw in an unheard of the national action against dishonest elections a chance to blame the regime, and then was brutally disappointed when the other leaders took the people from the area of the revolution. By the way, that day there really was a chance - a small, but a chance. Then - everything ... Now it remains only to stock up on popcorn and wait for the king to go crazy with their pillow. In my opinion, there are no other options.
But 70 is, of course, a lot. This is an old man. I sincerely wish him in the last years of his life behind all the vicissitudes of the political struggle not to forget about his writing calling. Because if not lemons, then who?