Let me introduce some corrections, although the list of victims is much longer.
Aleksandr Block was never hounded, shamed, or driven mad. His poem "Twelve" was perceived as an acceptance of the Revolution. Blok died from hunger. Mandelstam wasn't killed; he died in the transit camp from dysentery. (I wrote about their fate recently.) Academik Likhachiov, whose books we studied, after prison became the most honorable man of the country. Babel wasn't denied publication; he was killed because he knew too much. He asked his "friend", butcher Ezhov, to be present at the tortures. The same happened with the other famous writer, Boris Pilniak; you didn't mention him.
This is powerful. I also feel like reading the footnotes from Day Equals Night has bolstered my understanding of Russian history and culture as much as your writings always do.
I think it depends on who you ask. “Official” answer is often a convenient one for their agenda, typically they would name the classics every knows. A person who is into literature and arts would know most of these names, the answer would extend to the 20th-21st century as well, hence the list. The original Russian meme works precisely because you can at least vaguely recognise 99% of the names, even tho you wouldn’t remember them when asked and never knew their biographies. Also probably the list is both an answer to your question and a question itself!
The rhetorical part of my question is the way societies tend to embrace the thinkers of their past as heroes / examples of the greatness of their culture after they've removed them as a threat. An example in the US is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. An example in El Salvador is Saint Oscar Romero. Both of them are held up as examples of the greatness of the very cultures that killed them for what they were trying to do.
That's the irony I think — in Russia, they are often celebrated without context of their suffering, it's even often ignored by the officials, or, esp. popular now with the gov, they get repackaged as patriots / national treasures.
Let me introduce some corrections, although the list of victims is much longer.
Aleksandr Block was never hounded, shamed, or driven mad. His poem "Twelve" was perceived as an acceptance of the Revolution. Blok died from hunger. Mandelstam wasn't killed; he died in the transit camp from dysentery. (I wrote about their fate recently.) Academik Likhachiov, whose books we studied, after prison became the most honorable man of the country. Babel wasn't denied publication; he was killed because he knew too much. He asked his "friend", butcher Ezhov, to be present at the tortures. The same happened with the other famous writer, Boris Pilniak; you didn't mention him.
Thank you to all who found my comment interesting.
This is powerful. I also feel like reading the footnotes from Day Equals Night has bolstered my understanding of Russian history and culture as much as your writings always do.
It's missing Vysotsky, no?
unfortunately, it’s missing a lot of names, in fact, for I couldn’t include everyone of practical reasons. plus, it’s 90% a translation, sooo...
Genuine question (as in I'm curious about the answer) but for rhetorical purposes (as in I am also seeing if I can make a point):
How many of these illustrious minds does contemporary Russia showcase pride in as part of their rich heritage and what makes Russian culture powerful?
I think it depends on who you ask. “Official” answer is often a convenient one for their agenda, typically they would name the classics every knows. A person who is into literature and arts would know most of these names, the answer would extend to the 20th-21st century as well, hence the list. The original Russian meme works precisely because you can at least vaguely recognise 99% of the names, even tho you wouldn’t remember them when asked and never knew their biographies. Also probably the list is both an answer to your question and a question itself!
The rhetorical part of my question is the way societies tend to embrace the thinkers of their past as heroes / examples of the greatness of their culture after they've removed them as a threat. An example in the US is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. An example in El Salvador is Saint Oscar Romero. Both of them are held up as examples of the greatness of the very cultures that killed them for what they were trying to do.
That's the irony I think — in Russia, they are often celebrated without context of their suffering, it's even often ignored by the officials, or, esp. popular now with the gov, they get repackaged as patriots / national treasures.
Wow. Interesting. Yes, quite a track record. Thanks.
That is quite a track record.