Language politics, higher pay to stop prison torture, and rockers drop out of a ‘militarized’ festival Wednesday, July 25, 2018 (Dear readers, Meduza ’s newsletter is going on a short hiatus and will return on Wednesday, August 1.) This day in history. On July 25, 1980, the acclaimed Russian musician Vladimir Vysotsky died at the age of 42, after a lifetime of tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse. To this day, Vysotsky remains one of Russia's most celebrated cultural figures.