Russia doesn’t just have a people with a ‘wide soul’ – «широкая душа» – but also a wide and diverse culture – «русская культура широкая и разная». Today’s post is about a part of Russian culture that is not among the first things you might find out about this country, but a part that is larger than one imagines it to be initially and has a strong influence on many other parts of society as well. This part of Russian culture is called «блатная музыка» [‘thieves’ music’; ‘music from the criminal world’]. The adjective «блатной» translates into English as ‘rouge; thieves” and is used to define any noun that is connected with the Russian criminal world. Most of Russian traditional «блатные песни» [‘songs from the criminal world’] belong to a musical genre known in Russia as «шансон» [chanson], or even «русский шансон» [Russian chanson] since it differs some from the French music genre it originally took its name from. «Шансон» is loved by many, many people in Russia today; the most popular radio station «в Свердловской области» [in Sverdlovsk Region] where «Екатеринбург» [Yekaterinburg] is located, is none other than «радио шансон» [Radio Chanson]. Over 50% of all people in our region listen to this radio station on a daily basis. This radio station doesn’t only play «блатная музыка» but sometimes it is difficult to define what is what, especially for someone like me who first came in touch with the Russian «блатной мир» [criminal world] through the works of «Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский» [Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky] and «Варлам Тихонович Шаламов» [Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov]. Both of these writers collected «выражения тюремного жаргона» [prison jargon expressions] while serving their sentences, but dealt with the material they gathered in completely opposite ways. Dostoevsky used them in almost all of his later works while Shalamov principally cleared everything he ever wrote from any word or phrase that sounded like «блатной язык» [‘criminal language’]. Both of these opinions – Dostoevsky’s positive and Shalamov’s negative – are still current in Russian society today. Either Russians say this kind of culture is okay, or they don’t want to have anything to do with this part of society at all. This I knew before I went to see «Мурка! мюзикл на мотивы русского шансона» [Murka! a musical to the tunes of Russian chanson] this evening with my Russian friend Марина [Marina] and my Korean roommate Вика [Vika]. I received three free tickets on Friday afternoon while I was being treated to «кофе с коняком» [coffee with brandy] by one of my friends who happens to be both «преподаватель биологии» [a teacher of biology] and «мой студент шведского языка» [my student of Swedish language] at the university. A young woman was offering university teachers free tickets to see this new Russian musical and my friend said that he would never go since he «к шансону никак» [doesn’t like chanson at all] and because he thinks spreading this negative culture is «плохо» [bad]. Now as you see, my Russian friend agrees with Shalamov and would rather wish this part of Russian society didn’t exist at all; at least he doesn’t want to look in that direction and acknowledge it. But I don’t agree with him and so I asked to give me some tickets instead. Why did I do that? Because I am a huge fan of criminal elements? No, but because I find this culture extremely fascinating. After all I am but a humble philologist and since Russian «блатари» [criminals] have their own «слова» [words] and «фразелогия» [phraseology] I cannot help my curiosity. And since I am not an expert on Russian chanson – except for what I’ve heard here and there due to have lived here for long enough – I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to brush up on my knowledge of classical tunes such as «Таганка» [“Taganka”] and «Мурка» [“Murka”; (did you know that «Мурка» [Murka] is short for «Маруся» [Marusya] that’s short for «Мария» [Maria])]?

Outside of «дворецкультурыжелезнодорожников» [the railroaders’ recreation center] before the show this Sunday evening. «Слеванаправо: я, Вика, Маринаисновая» [from right to left: I, Vika, Marina and once again I].

Upon entering a very average looking «дворец культуры» [recreation center] – anyone who has ever visited one of these traditional Soviet buildings knows that the saying ‘if you’ve seen one, then you’ve seen them all’ can be applied to them – I didn’t know what to expect. Neither did my friends know what to expect. All we knew was that we were going to hear Russian traditional songs in new versions and that’s what we received in the end. The musical was great! I might be a bit biased, though, since I have to confess to being both «большой любитель мюзиклов» [a big fancier of musicals] and «большой ценитель оперы» [big appreciator of opera]. This means that a show where people suddenly and/or continuously sing and/or dance cannot fail to be liked by me. But this show was somehow different; and perhaps it was the music that made that difference. As always in Russia, the actors and the dancers were all great performers and the singing was impressive. Both my friends were very impressed by the show and the evening was very pleasant. On our way out of the «дворец культуры» people all around us were singing the tunes from the musical and some were even dancing… That’s what great an impression it made on the audience! Can’t be anything but a good sign, right? And I couldn’t get the best song of all – «Таганка» [“Taganka”] – out of my head during our ride home «на троллейбусе» [on the trolley bus] so the first thing I just had to do when I got home was to find it on youtube… Which I did in a very nice version by «Михаил Шуфутинский» [Mikhail Shufutinsky] that I’m posting below, as well as the lyrics in Russian together with my very own translation in English. Now you can learn the words and sing along too! (P.S. «Владимир Высоцкий» [Vladimir Vysotsky] also has a version of this song on youtube, maybe you’ll like his version more…)

Цыганкаскартами, дорогадальняя.

[A Gupsy woman with playing cars; a distant road.]

Дорога дальняя, казённый дом.

[A distant road; a house belonging to the state.]

Быть может старая, тюрьма центральная

[Maybe the old, the central prison]

Меня, парнишечку, по новой ждёт.

[awaits me, laddie, with a new term.]

Быть может старая, тюрьма центральная

[Maybe the old, the central prison]

Меня, парнишечку, по новой ждёт.

[awaits me, laddie, with a new term.]

 

Припев: [Refrain:]

Таганка, все ночи, полные огня,

[Taganka, all the nights full of light,]

Таганка, зачем сгубила ты меня?

[Taganka, for what have you ruined me?]

Таганка, я твой бессменный арестант,

[Taganka, I am your permanent prisoner,]

Погибли юность и талант в твоих стенах.

[youth and talent got lost inside your walls.]

Таганка, я твой бессменный арестант,

[Taganka, I am your permanent prisoner,]

Погибли юность и талант в твоих стенах.

[youth and talent got lost inside your walls.]

 

Я знаю, милая, больше не встретимся…

[I know, honey, we won’t meet anymore…]

Дороги разные нам суждены.

[Different roads are destined for us.]

Опять по пятницам пойдут свидания

[Again on Fridays there’ll be meetings]

И слёзы горькие моей родни.

[and my relatives’ bitter tears.]

Опять по пятницам пойдут свидания

[Again on Fridays there’ll be meetings]

И слёзы горькие моей родни.

[and my relatives’ bitter tears.]

 

Припев: [Refrain:]

Таганка, все ночи, полные огня,

[Taganka, all the nights full of light,]

Таганка, зачем сгубила ты меня?

[Taganka, for what have you ruined me?]

Таганка, я твой бессменный арестант,

[Taganka, I am your permanent prisoner,]

Погибли юность и талант в твоих стенах.

[youth and talent got lost inside your walls.]

Таганка, я твой бессменный арестант,

[Taganka, I am your permanent prisoner,]

Погибли юность и талант в твоих стенах.

[youth and talent got lost inside your walls.]

 I don’t know why I came to like this song so much. There’s something about its «настроение» [mood], I guess… But then again, we don’t always have to understand everything.