Translated material
Co -author of Stalin
On March 15, 1944, a significant event took place in our country. On this day, the first public execution of the new Soviet state anthem took place.
The difference between the texts of an old, already canceled anthem and new was huge.
Old ("International") was a hymn of free people :
No one will give us deliverance
Neither God, nor the king or the hero.
We will achieve the liberation
With your own hand.
New - the anthem of slaves :
Stalin raised us to loyalty to the people,
He inspired us for labor and exploits.
Few then understood the true, deep meaning of this replacement.
And as far as I know, only one person managed to express this, as far as I know - then an unknown young poet, whose name (Yuri Grachevsky), will say something to anyone then.
This is how he did it:
Was there someone who understood in the hall
All the tragedy of this emptiness?
The capter slightly raised his palm,
Looking casually at the musical sheets,
And before the helpless orchestra
The hall, like a regiment, was standing.
Was there someone in the hall who instead
The necessary words - others repeated?
Was anyone in the hall who saw
How did the vise time converge?
Who, like me, hated it all?
Who wanted not to sing, but to howl with longing?
It is unlikely that the author of this poem was the only one who understood (felt) all the tragedy of what was happening. But those who already understood this then, not only in that hall, but throughout the country there were few. And this is not necessary to be surprised. This always happens, "when they burden the era":
When they burden the era,
The tombstone does not sound like a psalm
Nettle, thistle
It has to decorate it.
And only the graves are famously
Work. It's not awaited!
And quietly, so, Lord, quietly,
What is heard, how time goes.
And after she comes up,
Like a corpse on the spring river, -
But the son will not recognize his mother,
And the grandson will turn away in longing ...
(Anna Akhmatova)
This is not why it should not be surprised that they are far from understanding the true meaning of what was happening on March 15, 1944, not only those present at that first performance of the new anthem and this new anthem performed, but also its authors themselves: poet Sergei Mikhalkov and journalist Gabriel El-Registan.
They simply performed a well -understood social order by them.
And in order to fulfill it correctly , the main customer himself helped them in this.
***
About how he did this, after many years (in 1997) I wrote a small note and printed it in one Moscow magazine.
The story told to me by someone about how Stalin himself the text of the new state anthem handed it off, as it seemed to me, not only historical interest, so I decided to record and make it out.
And the story was like that.
Mikhalkov and El-Registan had the first verse of a new anthem at first looked like this:
Free peoples union noble
Great Rus' raped forever.
Long live created by the will of folk
One, powerful Soviet Union.
Stalin, as I heard, crossed out the word "noble" (he did not like it with something), and corrected the words "by the will of the people" to the "will of the peoples".
So I wrote about this, accompanying this record with a small ironic comment on the fact that the father of the peoples was not counted with the fact that as a result of his editing, the rhymes holding these lines disappeared.
This note of mine caught the eye of Sergei Vladimirovich, and after reading it, he called me (we knew) and expressed his indignation in a rather stormy form.
- Where did it take from all the time! - stuttering more than usual in irritation, he shouted. - There was nothing like that and could not be! Joseph Vissarionovich never - can you hear? never! - I didn’t enter anything into our text! He left his comments in the fields, and we made all the necessary amendments ourselves. Ah, did you know that? So they would ask me! ..
I asked, and he, slightly shocked, told me that. And I, having thanked, corrected my note in accordance with this story.
Like this:
On the fields of this poetic text, Stalin made two comments. Against the words "The Union noble" set a question mark and wrote: "Your noble?" Against the words "the will of the people" there was also a question mark and the same ironic replica: "People’s will?"
The authors, of course, immediately took into account the will of the leader. In the corrected form, the quatrains looked like this:
Union of indestructible republics of free
Great Rus' raped forever.
Long live created by the will of the peoples
The Great, Mighty Soviet Union.
The rhyme, of course, suffered ("free - peoples" - this, of course, is worse than "noble - folk." Strictly speaking, this is not even a rhyme at all). But the association that cried the leader with "your illegar" and an even more unpleasant reminder of the terrorists-narological vehicles disappeared.
However, on the artistic merits of the text, this edit did not reflect in any way, since he had no such advantages. Yes, and it was not about them. When some wit name called the authors of the new anthem "Gimnyuki", Mikhalkov was not even offended.
- Gimnyuki, not Gimnyuki, ”he objected,“ and you will sing standing. ”
And he was right.
In this new, fixed form, I turned on this note in the then prepared for the publication, my book "Stop surprised!". This book soon came out, and, of course, I wanted to show this corrected text to Mikhalkov.
It was quite simple for me to do this, because we met with Sergey Vladimirovich then constantly.
At that time, for some reason, I was suddenly introduced to the Commission on State Prizes, the chairman of which was previously Sergey Vladimirovich. When the composition of this commission was updated (one of the consequences of this update was my appearance in it), he announced that he would not work with this new composition and leaves the commission. But he soon came to his senses and made another statement. He said that he does not consider it possible to give up his positions and remains in the commission. True, already in the role of not the chairman, but its ordinary member.
And so it happened that at the meetings of that commission we were sitting nearby. And once I slipped him this book that had just been released, opening it on the page where anger caused him was printed, but the already corrected note about how it happened that Stalin at some point was in some way, S.V. Mikhalkova, co -author .
After reading this new text, Sergei Vladimirovich grunted semi-approvingly and muttered something like what is okay, they say, nothing so, it is possible.
But I did not stop there and immediately slipped another book to him - not mine, but another author - which I got out shortly before and specially for this case.
It was told in detail about how work on the text of the new state anthem was on the text of the new state anthem:
According to El Registan, on October 27, 1943, A.N. called at 2 a.m. at 2 a.m. Poskrebyshev and said what Stalin would say. "Joseph Vissarionovich told Sergei that he was listening to him that the text is short (" kutsy "): you need to add one verse with a chorus. In this bunch, which should be belligerent in spirit, I must say: 1) about the Red Army, its relics, strength; 2) that we will hit it (" fascist half -obstacles " - so it is - so it is it I put it).
And here is a personal meeting with the leader. “Comrade Stalin gives the text:“ Look how it turned out ... ”he is all in his notes ... The words:“ friendship ”,“ happiness ”,“ glory ”vary. The words“ sacred stronghold ”are replaced by“ reliable stronghold ”...” He leads us from victory to victory! ” - he must -“ let it be from victory to victory! ”.
(Evgeny Gromov. "Stalin. Power and Art." M., 1998. P. 341)
This story was poorly consistent with what Sergei Vladimirovich inspired me in that old telephone conversation ("Joseph Vissarionovich never - you hear? Never! - I have never entered our text! .."), and I waited for him to say now: "But this is not a document, but memories! El registration was remembered, but I should believe it, and not for me?"
But for this case, another "home blank" was disposed of. I turned the page and the next behind it slipped to his nose:
The seventh version of the anthem with Stalin's amendments has been preserved. The authors asked for some materials as a keepsake. "The amendments made by Comrade Stalin's personally at 23.45 in the Kremlin on October 23, 1943 at my request - presented to us. S. Mikhalkov. El -Registan." And again: "The amendments of the comrade Stalin (made by the hands of his hands with blue ink) we marked here in a red pencil ; our final edition , adopted by Comrade Stalin, Molotov and Voroshilov, is marked with a blue pencil."
The most fundamental edit is made by the leader to the next quatrain:
Through the thunderstorms, the Sun of Freedom shone to us.
Lenin illuminated us on the coming path.
We were raised by Stalin - the chosen one of the people.
He inspired us for labor and exploits.
The Kremlin editor does not touch the first and last lines. Two medium -sized ones look like this now:
And Lenin the Great Patient Path to us.
Stalin raised us - to loyalty to the people ...
The last three words were written by Stalin with his own hand.
(Ibid.. S. 342)
Mikhalkov read it. He frowned. Silent.
What could he say?
Of course, I was glad that I managed, as they say, to poke his nose into this document , donated by Stalin to him and El Registan at their own request , which was also certified by his own signature .
But was it so important?
In the end, is it all the same, with his hand he entered Stalin into the text of the anthem of his amendments, or left comments in the fields, or gave the authors their instructions orally?
The essence of the matter was not at all about that.
***
Mikhail Ardov-Archpriest, writer, son of our famous humorist Viktor Ardov, in the book of his memoirs, "The Legendary Ordynka" depicted a whole gallery of portraits of various wonderful people who met a lot on that legendary horde.
Now - in a direct association - I remembered one of these sketches :
Here you will make two brackets, ”says Ardov. He leads a pencil according to the drawing.
Well, well, we can, ”the carpenter Ivan Kapitonovich answers sedately.
And here, ”the father continues to explain,“ such a small plywood jumper ...
Well, well, we are arting ...
I.K. Sigunov was a Krasnoderevets, he performed numerous ardic orders - he built tables, shelves, stands for books ...
If the customer’s plan was to his liking, Kapitonych shake his “Well, we are, we’ll be attended ...”, but if not, he repeated ironically: “Esh! ..”
The relationship between Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov with who ordered him the text of the new state anthem developed exactly according to this scheme.
The customer says:
- Here you will insert a verse about the Red Army, its relics, power, and that we are beating fascism and we will beat it.
The executor of the order responds exactly the same as the Ardovsky carpenter Ivan Kapitonych:
- Well, well, we are arting ...
And immediately the text of this new verse ordered by the owner is the text of this, ordered by the owner:
We raised our army in the battle
We will swim the invaders of the viles from the road ...
The order is made accurately, and it is not the guilt of the performer that the result of his efforts looks stupid: the "swimmers of the vile" we "from the road to sweep" in a year and a half, this is, so to speak, the priority task of the current moment. And the anthem of the country, especially so great, powerful and indestructible, which he is designed to sing, has been created for centuries. In any case, for decades ...
But you can’t argue with such a customer as Stalin. You can’t even express your doubt to him with such a cautious interjection as, it happened, Ivan Kapitonych used (“Esh!”).
So we are not entitled to condemn Sergei Vladimirovich Mikhalkov for this unquestioning obedience.
But the life of Sergey Vladimirovich developed in such a way that he had to act three times in the role of the performer of such the most important state order. Nothing of the kind in world practice - neither earlier nor later - as far as I know, it has not happened. (In what other country could this happen: in the life of one generation of citizens, three state anthem replaced and the author of each of them would be the same person!)
These three hymns, the author of which he had to become, naturally, were different (otherwise why would it need to change them?). And the customers were also different. But the executor of the order every time has been the same. And for each new order, he invariably readily responded: "Well, well, we are arting ...". And did.