The last addresses of Shalamov

Elena Zakharova about the last months and days of life of Varlam Shalamova

"Moscow Varlam Shalamov" - a project under the name, starting from April this year, takes place in the Russian capital. Its organizers are the Memorial Society and the editors of the SHALAMOV.RU site. Special excursions are held in places related to the life and work of Varlam Shalamov. But there are no last Moscow addresses of the author of the Kolyma Stories in the route.

The Moscow Temple of St. Nicholas in the Kuznetsk Sloboda. On January 21, 1982, the writer Varlam Shalamov was buried here. From here the funeral bus went to the Troekurovsky cemetery. The doctor and writer Elena Zakharova were near the writer in the last hours of his life. And it will not be an exaggeration to say that it is thanks to her that the author of the Kolyma Stories has a grave. Elena Zakharova, in an interview with Radio Liberty, spoke about the last months of Shalamov’s life and about farewell to the writer.

- It was January, the weather was very cold, and the temple seemed cold. But suddenly many people came to the funeral, a lot of people went to accompany Varlam Tikhonovich in the cemetery. The wake took place at home with my father Sergey Sergeyevich Khorozheoy, because Varlam Tikhonovich did not have his own home. I don’t recall any political moments either - except that on the glass the driver of the funeral bus had a portrait of Stalin, and we all twisted all of us from this. Then my close friend, after we arrived at the wake, went down to pay off the driver, and apparently told him something, because the driver took off this portrait. And so it was a funeral service as a funeral service and funeral as a funeral. It is always cold at the funeral, and then January.

- And how did people learn about Shalamov’s funeral, was it not advertised?

- Everyone has friends, friends have friends, those friends, in turn, have friends too. Literally immediately after the death of Varlam Tikhonovich, I phoned a large number of people from among my close and less close friends and acquaintances. Of course, the Earth is full of rumors. I am not surprising in this. It often happens that during life a person exists alone, and a lot of people come to say goodbye to him. And this is better than if he had to accompany him a handful of people. Probably there is some sense in this.

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Moscow Varlam Shalamov

- When did you first hear the name of Shalamov?

- I am a hereditary dissident, so to speak. My father, translator Viktor Aleksandrovich Hinkis, and my mother - were dissent people by definition. And I was also born a dissenting person. In those days, there was such a system of double -humidity, when parents, who themselves did not part with the “speedles” and listened “voices”, nevertheless, lived with the idea to protect children from possible troubles. They themselves thought one thing, and the children were inspired by another, or at least they did not share with them what they thought that the child at the school would not blurt out something. It was a fairly common situation in those days. That was not with me. I remember the position of my parents, books, songs and everything that happened in the house. On Galich, I grew up and raised my son. I consider this to be fundamental things: so that there is mutual understanding between generations. If people read only books, it’s easier for them to talk in any case.

It was such a bastard system that did not expect the power of the blows: this person is more dangerous, we will slap him more, but this one is not so dangerous ... A steam locomotive rides you, and a steam locomotive is more or less, you are a bunny or wolf

Galich joined my family physically, but, in addition, there are different books, for life you read some, there are more or less beloved things, there are things that are included in your inner composition. Galich refers to me precisely to such fundamental things. Therefore, everything that I perceived through his work was very important for me. In particular, the Literature Bridges cycle meant a lot to me. In addition to the most beautiful song and the fact that in the Samizdatsky typewritten collection that we had, it was written that this is dedicated to V.T. Shalamov. Just nothing more about Shalamov, except that this song contains - and there were not facts, but rather emotional and even, perhaps, philosophical mood - I did not know anything more until the next decade of my life about Shalamov.

- How old are you when you read Kolyma Stories?

- Well, probably, 21 or 22 years old, student age.

Varlam Shalamov in the house for the disabled and elderly No. 9, Moscow, February 1980. Photo by Christina Miletich

- That is, when you and your father came to the boarding school in Tushino to visit Shalamov, you knew who this person was and what he wrote?

- Well, a little more, but also not fully. Because I did not read everything, and I completely could not imagine the situation. Something I heard that he published a letter in Literary ... But, of course, I completely could not imagine who was talking about. Neither about his scale as a writer, nor about the person, nor about his fate, I did not know anything at that time.

-Have you encountered some difficulties when you with your father visited Shalamov’s boarding school?

-With my father I was there for the only time, and I do not recall that there were some difficulties. The only thing I remember that although I was already a medical student and managed to see something in life, it was nevertheless shocked by the situation that I did not remember anything but this. I still have this picture before my eyes: a room, two old men ... And then, when after the death of my father I and my few friends visited him in the last period of Shalamov’s life, looked after him, we came to the officially permitted visits hours. I do not recall that at first someone repaired us some obstacles, at least I personally do not. Then, closer to the final, the problems really began to arise.

- And what, in your opinion, was so dangerous already absolutely sick and physically weak huts for the state?

“You know, I'm not even sure that I am dangerous.” Then every reason for possible publications, programs, some messages on the Voice caused discontent. Shalamov himself physically, of course, did not pose any danger. In addition, it must be understood that it was such a bastard system that did not calculate the power of the blows: this person is more dangerous, we will slam it stronger, but this one is not so dangerous ... A steam locomotive is going to you, and a steam locomotive is more or less, you are a bunny or wolf. Therefore, the point is not how dangerous he was - a blind, deaf, weak old man; It was more important how he could be an concern. Perhaps in this sense dissatisfaction caused the appearance of people who carried out the functions of cores, since there was some kind of supervision of it from the organs. 2-3 years of Shalamov’s stay in the boarding school, there was generally complete silence, and then some body movements suddenly began to occur.

- And who visited Varlam Tikhonovich?

Varlam Shalamov. Photo of 1941

- At the same time or in line with me, the following people visited him: Alexander Anatolyevich Morozov, who did this all the time, that is, starting from the very beginning. And he was the one with whom Shalamov talked, as far as he could communicate. A little later than I, Tatyana Nikolaevna Umanskaya appeared, a teacher and philologist, who suddenly realized that she was the granddaughter of the Chalamovsky story "Weismanist", she was a much more dissident than I, almost a professional dissident, and it was very important for her. Lyudmila Anis was with us, she just caught the eye of Kolyma Stories. And by the way, after the death of Shalamov, I knew many people whose life changed, because once this book caught my eye. My close comrade Vladimir Ryabokon, who was still living in Russia, who was also a very dissident person and, on this occasion, has already managed to endure various troubles. And I.

I cannot answer for a longer period, but for these 7 months I can vouch. We had a certain turn, and of course, it was not tough, everyone had different circumstances, but in general, two or three times a week, someone came from this very small group of people, and I firmly know that neither I myself, nor any of my comrades from this group more under Varlam Tikhonovich during the hours when we visited there, did not meet. And since the willy-nilly in this situation, of course, we tried at least something to help the unfortunate who were nearby, of course, there were some conversations with some of them. I have never heard that someone except those people that I listed was there.

-Did the relevant organs annoyed that someone came to Shalamov?

- I know firmly that it was a system that did not think, did not compare, did not build logic, she rode stupidly. None of the functionaries of this system gave himself difficult, and probably, no one would think of thinking about the fate of some sufferer, by the will of the fate of the state in a particular institution in a state care, if it can, of course, be called care. And, as they say, nothing personal. This is on the one hand. On the other hand, some people suddenly began to appear-and he was not just an unknown forgotten grandmother, but still Shalamov-and yet Gabnya looked after him, probably, this also played some role. Another thing is that, maybe if we were not in the fall or at the end of summer, he would safely measure at the place of his first stay in this boarding school from pneumonia, very heavy, from which he barely fired. But this is also a philosophical issue.

- You write in the memoirs that from the Union of Writers Varlam Tikhonovich regularly sent invitations to events. Did any of the colleagues visit him?

-I never had to see a single living writer there ... Well, someone probably brought it or sent the Moscow writer newspaper by mail and periodically cardboard postcards with the inscription "The House of the Writer invites you then and there." I have known these postcards since childhood, because my father, translator, from time to time took me to various children's events to the writer’s house. Glossy folds with invitations to various events in his nightstand lay.

- If in the Union of Writers they were aware of where the Shalamov was, why did not make efforts there, so that the author of the Kolyma Stories, a world -famous writer, is worthy of buried?

I had a feeling of parallelity of spaces: here are the huts with his fate, his boarding school, a life -life situation - and a civilian panichid in the oak hall of the House of Writers, with all these speeches

- The Union of Writers was, of course, in the know. And I just had to make efforts in order to bring the writers alliance out of the brackets of this situation. The fact that Shalamov managed to bury humanly is a miracle! On January 15, Tatyana Umanskaya came to visit Shalamova and found that he was not in the room. There was an evening, a little staff, she could not get anything from anyone. The next day, on Saturday, Tatyana Nikolaevna and I arrived in the daytime in order to try to make certificates and find out what happened. Inquiries made. And finally, on the 17th morning, Lyudmila and Tanya went to Babushkinskaya, to this boarding school for psychochronics to try to see Shalamov, to visit him. The time was unacceptable, however, the doctor on duty let us in. He was not from the system, and behaved like a person, simply speaking, and not like a screw of this inhuman machine. It was already clear that literally we were talking about hours, and of course, we stayed with Shalamov until the very end.

And only when he died, I thought: then what will happen? I was still quite a girl then, but still I had a kind of medical experience, and I understood that I had to do some body movements now in order to bury Varlam Tikhonovich. I understood: it may turn out that the body will not be given. There is such a thing - unclaimed dust, unclaimed bodies - these are people who have no relatives. The doctor on duty told me: "Now we will call transportation, we will take it to the morgue." I say: "Tell me, but how would I get a death certificate?" - Because it will be necessary to bury it later. At the same time, I understood that my business is very slippery, because I am nobody. Moreover, I perfectly understood that there are no direct relatives. But the doctor on duty issued a certificate, and in the accompanying document to the body made a note at my request: "There are relatives."

On Monday, of course, I began to call different people, my friends, father's friends, people began to give advice, collect money, someone attracted the Little Fund. There at that time there was a wonderful person who was engaged in the funeral of writers, and I already had the opportunity to encounter his death, and before that in connection with the death of Nadezhda Yakovlevna Mandelstam. He also took part. And then, since the question arose where to bury, I asked for this Littlefond man a request for help, and a place in the Troekurovsky cemetery began to be discussed, where, in fact, Varlam Tikhonovich was buried.

This man called me literally the very next day, took a photo of Shalamov and hung it in the lobby in the house of writers. He said that I should go to talk with the secretaries of the Writers' Union. And I went. I used to be there with my dad and imagined what the secretaries of the 1982 writers Union were. I sat for a long, long time, then I was invited to some gloomy, lined with oak panels, a big office, and they began to very seriously discuss the civilian panachid with me in the oak room. And I had an emotional very strong sense of parallelity of spaces: here are the Shalamov with his fate, his boarding school, a life real situation - and a civilian panichid in the oak hall of the House of Writers, with all these speeches. It was somehow very quickly in my mind or, conversely, decomposed, and I told them: "No, church funeral service. He bequeathed." What was not true, he did not bequeath anything, he almost could not say something, he almost never heard, and of course, it never occurred to me to ask him the question of whether he wanted him to be buried after death. They then even asked me to go out, consulted and said: "Since such a thing is a funeral service, our representatives will not be able to attend." I wanted to tell them that it pleases me very much, but did not say. And so everything ended without a scandal.

I had everything necessary in my hands. I asked Father Alexander me, whose parishioner was by this time, what would he advise me, where to catch Shalamov? It was absolutely impossible to bring the body to the New Village, and then to the Troekurovskoye cemetery. I’m not saying that it would be a political demonstration, since Alexander Men at that time experienced the strongest pressure from the KGB, and everything that happened in the parish was under supervision. But I consulted with him, and he called me this church. It was a baptist Christmas Eve, and my friend and catechist Andrei immortal came here, ordered a funeral service. I even have a receipt preserved.

- Whose idea was - to ask to make a monument to Shalamov sculptor Fedot Sechkov?

-It was somehow born more or less spontaneously. A wooden sculptural portrait that served as a prototype of the monument was made during the life of Shalamov. They were familiar with Schukov for a very long time. In my feeling, this is some kind of spontaneous, oncoming movement. Difficulties were to turn the original wooden sculptural portrait into a bronze casting and erect a monument. Because it is expensive, they collected money for more than a year. Many people helped me, participated in the fundament of funds. For example, work colleagues who, perhaps, have never heard about Shalamov before that, they began to read, listen, and for them it also turned out to be important. Then, when the money was collected, Fedot Fedotovich himself chose the granite stele, he himself made sure that this casting of the monument was produced properly. But it was absolutely natural, and it is even impossible to imagine that the monument to Shalamov was some other.

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The latest addresses of Varlam Shalamov