Great Russians
Our Russian chums have been voting for the Greatest Russian, in much the same way as our compatriots did a year or so back, with Churchill - correctly, IMHO - winning.
While there has been talk of voting manipulation by both organisers and voters, the results are now in, and the winner is a fairly uncontroversial figure - unless one is a Teutonic Knight - Alexander Nevsky. Nevsky has the advantage of being the subject of one of the world's greatest films, it must be said, with a rather nifty Prokofiev score.
Pyotr Stolypin, the early 20th century Tsarist PM and reformer, who might be called the father of Russian democracy, not that said democracy got much further than the maternity ward at the time made second. I have a vagueish recollection of Stolypin from A level history, the first decade of 20th Century history not being a period I have read up on much of late. After that it goes awry, with a certain odious Georgian rated third, ahead of Pushkin. Peter the Great was fifth, and a certain odious Volgan fifth.
Others in the top twelve include Dostoyevsky, Catherine the Great, Alexander II, Ivan the Terrible, Mendelev and Suvorov. Tolstoy did not make the cut, nor did Tchaikovsky. I would have voted for Peter the Great for what that's worth.
(Sniffing around for further details revealed that this tale was all over the conventional news sites, but having put fingers to keyboard I opted to finish the post)
While there has been talk of voting manipulation by both organisers and voters, the results are now in, and the winner is a fairly uncontroversial figure - unless one is a Teutonic Knight - Alexander Nevsky. Nevsky has the advantage of being the subject of one of the world's greatest films, it must be said, with a rather nifty Prokofiev score.
Pyotr Stolypin, the early 20th century Tsarist PM and reformer, who might be called the father of Russian democracy, not that said democracy got much further than the maternity ward at the time made second. I have a vagueish recollection of Stolypin from A level history, the first decade of 20th Century history not being a period I have read up on much of late. After that it goes awry, with a certain odious Georgian rated third, ahead of Pushkin. Peter the Great was fifth, and a certain odious Volgan fifth.
Others in the top twelve include Dostoyevsky, Catherine the Great, Alexander II, Ivan the Terrible, Mendelev and Suvorov. Tolstoy did not make the cut, nor did Tchaikovsky. I would have voted for Peter the Great for what that's worth.
(Sniffing around for further details revealed that this tale was all over the conventional news sites, but having put fingers to keyboard I opted to finish the post)
Labels: Mother Russia
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on Monday, December 29, 2008 at 10:34 am.
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Where art thou Putin? His press office (..and here I imagine well built men dressed like matix extra's) must be enjoying the orthodox festivities.
I suspect it was only open to dead Russians, but point made.
Do you know Robert Service's biography of Lenin?
The concluding paragraph of the chapter immediately preceding the account of the October Revolution is an absolute tour de force, whatever you think of the man (and Service is no hagiographer).
It describes Lenin's approach on foot to the Smolny Institute, having clandestinely crossed town from the Finland station, accompanied by his minder and disguised as a tramp. Further attempts at paraphrase would be counterproductive.
As for the literature, a character in a novel by Henry Green remarks that people usually read the Russian classics in their twenties (teens if you're precocious) but rarely return to them later on, and this chimes with my own, admittedly philistine, experience.
Probably won't be visiting again before the New Year, so have a good one. (I'll forward some DPRK stuff after the Library reopens on 5 Jan.)
Putin is part of the undead?
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