The Man Who Dared to Write About the Gulag

For this blog I am taking a brief departure from my usual discussion on Russian music history to take a look at the books I have recently read by author Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn.

Solzhenitsyn was a recipient of the Nobel Prize in 1970 for his book "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich". Having read this particular work of art, I can attest to the gripping accuracy of the perspective from which the novel is told. Although it is a fictional account it is easy to see that Solzhenitsyn has drawn from his own personal collection of true stories to explain to a reader the typical days events for a prisoner in the Gulag. From morning to night the reader is captivated by the no frills play by play description of what Ivan Denisovich feels, what he eats, what is expected of him, what the punishments are for failure to live up to said expectations, and details as to the sort of things prisoners do to survive. What is most refreshing is that the book does not demand pity from the reader, although one may naturally feel pity for the harsh conditions these often innocent human beings had to endure. Instead it is honest in that he reveals life of a prisoner including the decent parts. For example, Ivan's work crew leader is a man who does not take advantage of his authority to be unjustly cruel to his underlings. When in fact he is given his extra leader's rations, he gives it to Ivan who he recognizes for his efforts to make life easier for the whole crew.

Another book I strongly recommend by Solzhenitsyn is "Cancer Ward". This book is also drawn from the author's personal experiences, having been admitted to the cancer ward following his exile. "Cancer Ward" is told from the perspective of the male patients as well as their nurses and doctors in an Uzbekistan clinic of 1955 post-Stalinist Soviet Union. Each of the patients come from completely different backgrounds but each is equal in that they are all at the mercy of death by tumors. Some patients in particular are given more of a voice then others. For example a main conflict in the novel is the juxtaposition between "personnel officer", Pavel Nikolayevich Rusanov, and exiled war veteran, Oleg Kostoglotov. Rusanov is portrayed as a dedicated and corrupted man typical of the Soviet Union Authority. The reader is both disgusted and often amazed by his complete denial of the horrors of the Stalinist purges in which he himself played important roles in condemning his personal foes to labor camps for dubious crimes. Although he is pompous and ridiculous one almost feels pity in that he is so fragile in character and incapable of adapting to the changing world in which the political leaders of his hay day are now on the fall. His complete opposite, Kostoglotov (apparently meaning "bone chewer") is a man who has been thoroughly dragged through the mud of the Soviet Union. Having fought in the great war he was purged to the labor camps in the Gulag for trumped up charges of treason (he was a German POW) and later exiled indefinitely to the steppes. Kostoglotov is a charming character who is without any real feeling of obligation to his government. Thus he often antagonizes Rusanov and challenges his self righteous ideas. The men in the Cancer Ward each have their own story to tell, their own fears, and their own personal relationships which all culminate in this most excellent story.

Recordings

http://www.box.net/files#/files/0/f/52905872/Russian_Recordings

Unit 3-Rose

Hungry Russian bears dig up Arctic graves for food

Published: October 28th, 2010 11:04 AM

MOSCOW - Famished bears in northern Russia have resorted to digging up graves in cemeteries - and reportedly eating at least one body - after a scorching summer destroyed their natural food sources of forest berries and mushrooms, officials said Thursday.


The brown bears' grisly habit is forcing locals in the Arctic Circle region of Komi to mount 24-hour patrols, protecting their families and livestock with the concern that the bears might get a taste for fresher human flesh, said Pyotr Lobanov, a regional spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry.

(I thought this was crazy. What if you were visiting the cemetery and witnessed this. Ohmygosh!)

Russian Gambling

Russian Roulette is one thing that Russia is very well known for. But what is the history behind this gruesome game? Almost everyone knows the game. The general amount of players are 3-5, a single bullet is placed within a revolver and the cylinder is spun and snapped back in at random. The game is believed to have originated in 19th century czarist Russia. Prison guards would force prisoners to play the game and bet on the outcome. Over time soldiers even found themselves playing this game. Of course many who found themselves playing the game were actually crazy and suicidal, but there was also some who played to prove bravery. There is also another variation of the game. This game was called cuckoo. During cuckoo one player would stand on a table or chair with a gun, with the other players were around the room. The lights would than be turned off; players around the room would say cuckoo and than the player on top of the desk would fire in the direction of the sound. During cuckoo the shooter would have a fully loaded gun.

Both games held a certain amount of risk, the only component needed were a couple of men ready to gamble their life. No death has been reported ,by cause of this game, recently. However many still believe that these games are being played underground today.

Russian Federal Space Agency

Well as I was thinking about a topic to write about, I realized that Russia and America have many differences, but one thing they both have in common is a space program. Many people who grew up in the Soviet/Cold War era may believe that the Russian space program is nothing but a cover up for nuclear developments and world domination, and it probably is, but over the past few years the Russian Federal Space Agency has produced several good results. Firstly, after the U.S., they are the largest partners in the International Space Station program. They have contributed several modules of their design to the station, as well as flown several U.S. modules to the station on their own spacecraft. Also, the Russians have given their program an almost business-like structure. They have a contract with the U.S. to fly people ($42 million/person) and cargo ($50 million/trip) into space, and they also sell trips to the I.S.S. for $20 million (why it's more expensive to fly an astronaut than a tourist, I don't know). With the future of our own space program in jeopardy, it may be the Russians who continue to carry on the dream of space travel.

Micah Ivey

Recordings:

http://vocaroo.com/?media=vtWq6qLKAnamK1YDB

http://vocaroo.com/?media=v1qvQvhn23qO2Tq3T

Unit 3 blog post, will add dialogues later

So, I was stumbling around the Internets, and I found this. It made me лол. I don't think my Russian is awesome enough to translate the video dialogue yet, but it's still funny. I dunno, I like Powerthirst parodies. They're like meta-parodies because the original was itself a parody.



Here's a link to the original video if you've been living under an Internet rock for a while:
400 BABIES

Also, given that this blog is called Bear in a Hat, I thought it would be apropos to post the following:

dialogue links unit 3

http://www.box.net/files#/files/0/f/0/1/f_534648756

http://www.box.net/files#/files/0/f/0/1/f_534648776

Russian Folk Dance Unit 3 (Oct. 28)

Russia has been known, among many other things, for the interesting and energetic way in which they dance. Their ballet is especially notorious around the world. Many cultures consider dance the purest form of expression. Cultural and ceremonial dances have deep-seeded significance to any community because not only are they entertaining, they often times tell a story that is significant to the culture's history. Th history of Russian dance is a rather diverse and interesting topic.

Russian dance as a whole is very diverse. It ranges from the world renowned ballet schools that they have to a small culture of modern dancers. Modern dance, however, is not very accepted in Russia and is not very revered by the rest of the world. Russian folk dance is so unique because, until the fall of the Soviet Union, the people had very little contact with Western culture. Therefore there was no real way to learn about modern dance. However, Russia's folk dance has one of the most diverse stories of any dance.

The oldest account of Russian dance was an account of dancing on unstable rafts in the middle of a lake found in the ancient script "About Country of Moravia." It is not clear what kind of dancing was being performed on the rafts but this is the first account of folk dancing that appears in the region. The most notorious event of Russian folk dance is known as dancing with the bears. This occurred in 907 after Prince Oleg defeated the Greeks in Kiev. He arranged for dancers to dress as bears and for bears to be dressed as dancer and they performed a dance to celebrate the victory. However, after the performance he set the bears free and killed the dancers.

In more recent years Russian folk dancing was a social divider. Only the commoners and peasants danced. The aristocracy did not dance but they enjoyed to watch the dances. They usually hired performers (usually males) to entertain them with dance at social gatherings or events. This split occurred by the disruption of the Russian culture in the Tartar-Mongolian invasion that devastated Russian progress. However, after the Russian civil war a national folk dance team was established in 1937. It was an instant success around the world and is still prominent today, thus salvaging Russian folk dance.

Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!

The 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is certainly not an account of true Cold War events, but it does put the clash between capitalism and communism into a unique prespective. With the American public still in fear from the confrontation known later as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the relations between the United States and the Soviet Union seemed like a power keg waiting for a spark. Director Stanley Kubrick provided a scenario in which a spark would potentially ignite a nuclear war.

What would the spark be? An American general is convinced those pesky Soviets are keen on taking over the United States. Worse, some have already begun to infiltrate the country and possibly the ranks of the military. Their newest plot: using water fluoridation to infect American's precious bodily fluids. The paranoid patriot only reasonable response is to go rogue and send an Air Force B-52 wing to drop hydrogen bombs on the Russians, hoping to provoke an American early strike. If his plan works maybe capitalism and Uncle Sam can finally prevail.

When informed of the action by the general, the President establishes a crisis team to form in the War Room. With B-52 bombers heading for the Soviet Union without any way to be ordered back, the Russians could launch a retaliation. And what of the "Doomsday Device" the Soviet ambassador warns the Americans about; could that machine add more fuel to the flame? With planes on the Big Board moving closer and closer to their targets, the situation seems bleak (although is rather funny as the events are being played out). Maybe the ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove has a solution for the President and hope if the apocalypse emerges...

The film itself is a satire on the paranoia of the era and provides a dark comedic tone to the real threat that existed. The thought that one aggressive or inadvertent action by either Washington or Moscow would lead to nuclear annihilation was a real concern that existed for over 40 years. Several films have created a plot in which the United States or the world faced a nuclear threat (mainly from the Russians), but Dr. Strangelove provides such an over-the-top story which brilliantly magnifies the absurdities that existed in the real world. As a side note, Russian is also spoken in the film in a humorous exchange between the Soviet ambassador and the General Secretary. Like Russian Art, the subject of my last review, Dr. Strangelove is also found in the DuPont-Ball Library at Stetson University.

http://www.box.net/shared/7ivrev8oxl
http://www.box.net/shared/arhb561e35

Unit 3 Recording: Courtney & Rachel