Revolutionaries, "prisoners of conscience", dissidents, "enemies of the people" - as soon as they did not call political prisoners over the past several centuries. But is it really in the name? After all, a thinking, thinking person will almost inevitably be disliked by any authority, any regime. As Alexander Solzhenitsyn rightly noted, "the authorities are not afraid of who is against her, but who is superior to her."
The government either cracks down on dissidents according to the principle of total terror - “wood is chopped down, chips are flying”, or it acts precisely, selectively, trying to “isolate, but save”. And the way of isolation is just chosen jail or camp. There was a time when a great number of interesting people gathered in camps and in zones. Among them were poets with musicians. So began the songs of political prisoners.
Never mind that from Poland ...
One of the first revolutionary masterpieces of prison origin - the famous "Varshavyanka". The name is far from coincidental - indeed, the original text of the song is of Polish origin and belongs to Vaclav Svenitsky. He, in turn, relied on the "March of the Zouavs" (as the French infantrymen who fought in Algeria were called).
Varshavyanka
The text was translated into Russian by the "professional revolutionary" and Lenin's ally - Gleb Krzhizhanovsky. It happened at the time when he was in Butyrskaya transit prison, in 1897. Six years later, the text was able to publish. The song, as they say, went to the people: she called for a fight, for barricades. She sang with pleasure until the end of the civil war.
From prison - yes to the eternal will
The tsarist regime treated the revolutionaries quite liberally: references to settlement in Siberia, short sentences, rarely anyone, except the People of the Volunteers and terrorists, were hanged and shot. When, nevertheless, political prisoners went to their death or saw off the dead comrades on their last sorrowful way - they started a funeral march "You have fallen victim to the fateful struggle". The author of the text is Anton Amosov, published under the pseudonym of Arkady Arkhangelsky. The melodic basis is given by a poem by a blind poet of the 19th century, a contemporary of Pushkin, Ivan Kozlov, "He did not beat the drum in front of the vague regiment ...". The music was put on by composer A. Varlamov.
You fell victim to the fatal battle
It is curious that one of the verses refers to the biblical story of King Balthasar, who did not heed the terrible mystical prediction about the death of himself and of Babylon. However, this reminiscence did not embarrass anyone - after all, later in the text of the political prisoners' song there was a formidable reminder to modern tyrants that their arbitrariness would fall sooner or later, and the people would become "great, powerful, free." The song was so popular that for a decade and a half, from 1919 to 1932. her melody was given to the chiming clock of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin when it was midnight.
Popular among political prisoners and the song "Tortured by heavy bondage" - crying for the dead comrade. The cause of the creation was the student Pavel Chernyshev’s funeral, which resulted in a mass demonstration of the deceased from tuberculosis who died in prison. G.A. is considered to be the author of the poems. The mateta, although its authorship was never documented, was only theoretically substantiated as probable. There is a legend that it was this song that the young guards in Krasnodon sang before being shot in the winter of 1942.
Tortured by heavy bondage
When there is nothing to lose ...
The songs of political prisoners of the Late-Stalin period are, first of all, "I remember that port of Vanin" and "On the tundra". On the Pacific coast was located the port of Vanino. It served as a transfer point, trains were brought here with prisoners and overloaded them on parahods. And then - Magadan, Kolyma, Dalstroy and Sevvostlag. Judging by the fact that the port of Vanino was commissioned in the summer of 1945, the song was written no earlier than this date.
I remember that port of Vanin
Who was not named as the authors of the text - and well-known poets Boris Ruchev, Boris Kornilov, Nikolai Zabolotsky, and unknown to the general public Fedor Demin-Blagoveshchensky, Konstantin Sarakhanov, Grigory Alexandrov. Most likely the authorship of the latter - there is an autograph of 1951. Of course, the song broke away from the author, became a folklore and overgrown with numerous variations of the text. Of course, the text has nothing to do with the primitive blatnyak, before us is the poetry of the highest standard.
As for the song "Train Vorkuta-Leningrad" (another name - "According to the tundra"), its melody very much resembles a tearful, ultra-romantic courtyard song "The daughter of the prosecutor". Copyright not so long ago proved and registered Gregory Schurmak. The escapes from the camps were a great rarity - the fugitives could not help but realize that they were doomed to death or to late execution. And, nevertheless, the song poetized the eternal desire of prisoners for freedom and imbued with hatred for the guard guards. Director Eldar Ryazanov put this song into the mouths of the heroes of the film "Promised Heaven." So the songs of political prisoners continue being today.
By tundra, by rail ...
The author - Pavel Malofeev
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