Biography Vladimir Vysotsky
Vladimir Semenovich Vysotsky (1938 – 1980), poet, singer, actor, and composer has often been called the “Bob Dylan of the USSR.” His fame is due to his being a leading representative of the so-called bards and minstrel’s movement, which was initiated in the sixties and reached its peak in the mid-seventies. A gifted actor, he early discovered his true vocation around which his life had revolved — performing in theater and movies.
Between 1964 and 1980, Vysotsky worked at the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater. Actors made use of circus-style acrobatics, modern dance sequences. Part of Vysotsky’s acting style was the performance of songs to guitar accompaniment, created Despite the pressure and obstacles, the Taganka managed to deliver cutting-edge, effervescent performances. While there was no politics in Hamlet, there was something that was threatening to Soviet authorities – open conversation. At the Taganka stage, performing art articulated and commented on social issues. The brash style of Liubimov’s theatrical productions attracted Vysotsky and he played over the twenty title roles, including Hamlet, one of his most famous roles. In Hamlet (1971), Vysotsky’s costume—a black sweater and jeans—made him a man of the people rather than a prince, and his troubles of conscience could be shared by the audience.
Vysotsky, like the other “bards”, composed both the verses and the tunes of his songs and performed them in person and, when his public performances were barred, began to tape his singing. He performed his own songs with a deep, hoarse, and intense voice, tuning his guitar to the”low pitch A”. He was influenced by”standard” folk melodies, which he utilized to elevate the genre of amateur songwriting. He created more than 700 songs and took part in over 2000 public and private performances. Since his songs assumed to threaten the social order, Soviet authorities banned his public performances and during his lifetime, Soviet television did not broadcast his concerts, however, his fans would record the songs on their reel-to-reel tape players, and cassette-tape recordings of live performances of his songs achieved wide circulation.
As a songwriter, he became famous at 35 with his stylized outlaw songs, then even more so with songs that ranged from lush and romantic topics to various issues considered taboo in the Soviet culture, such as un-heroic aspects of war, ever-watchful neighbor, corruption, the tyrannical bureaucracy, psychiatric hospitals. Vysotsky rendered the narrator’s voice as that of a man looking back on his experiences with a greater perspective. His first-person narration allowed alter-ego for himself to say shocking things about convicts, drunkards, recent political returnees, sailors, athletes, scientists, and survivors of the Gulag, war veterans, gold miners, historic, mythological, or folkloric figures or animals. Whatever the mask, the narrator always proves very intelligent and deeply introspective, saying things that people would have loved to say, but never dare to show of themselves.
He was way ahead of his time at laughing at public obsessions and Soviet politics. Despite common belief that Vysotsky is a satirist, some of his songs are obvious allegories. He has an ability for combining satire and lyricism almost in the same line.
KGB might have been monitoring his correspondence for quite some time and was probably following his every move. Nevertheless, due to his very public presence as an actor, he was the most recognized Russian bard. At the same time, Vysotsky never gained direct access to the media and remained an enigmatic figure.
Soviet authorities ignored even his death that occurred when Moscow was hosting the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. A true testament to his symbolic power in the society was his funeral when dozens of thousands of Muscovites came to Vagankovskoe Cemetery to say their farewell to the most famous Russian bard.
Sources
Astrakhan, Vadim. Vysotsky in English
Vlady, Marina. Vladimir or the Interrupted Flight. 1987
