{"id":1542,"date":"2010-11-15T10:00:59","date_gmt":"2010-11-15T10:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1542"},"modified":"2014-07-17T14:04:06","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T14:04:06","slug":"reading-%d0%bc%d0%b0%d1%81%d1%82%d0%b5%d1%80-%d0%b8-%d0%bc%d0%b0%d1%80%d0%b3%d0%b0%d1%80%d0%b8%d1%82%d0%b0-chapter-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/reading-%d0%bc%d0%b0%d1%81%d1%82%d0%b5%d1%80-%d0%b8-%d0%bc%d0%b0%d1%80%d0%b3%d0%b0%d1%80%d0%b8%d1%82%d0%b0-chapter-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading “\u041c\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440 \u0438 \u041c\u0430\u0440\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0430”: Chapter 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

How much do I love bookstores? So much that I am ready to fly to Moscow for just one day to browse through books at “\u0411\u0438\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043e-\u0413\u043b\u043e\u0431\u0443\u0441”<\/strong> (one of the largest bookstores in Moscow). While I’m saving up for the transatlantic flight, I shop online and, when possible, on Brighton Beach (Brooklyn, NY). That’s where I saw these two translations of Bulgakov’s works. I took this picture months ago and forgot about it (it’s not the best quality shot).\u00a0Eerily, the cover image of the book on the left relates very well to the content of this post.<\/em><\/p>\n

How did you like Chapter 18 of the Master and Margarita? Isn\u2019t it one of the most entertaining chapters so far? The \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0435\u0437\u0430\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u0447\u043b\u0438\u0432\u044b\u0435 <\/strong>\u0432\u0438\u0437\u0438\u0442\u0451<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [unlucky visitors] are minor characters that are conjured only for short terrifying (to them) and hilarious (to us) encounters with Woland.<\/p>\n

And yet, there is so much linguistic richness in their fleeting appearances. For example, Andrei Fokich, the hapless \u00ab<\/strong>\u0431\u0443\u0444\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0447\u0438\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [bartender], is described by Woland\u2019s maid as \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [a little man]. Of course, Andrei Fokich is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430\u043b\u044e<\/span>\u0441\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [diminutive] in statue, but there\u2019s another meaning behind the maid\u2019s description. \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> has a meaning of \u201cinsignificant, unimportant person\u201d or \u201csimple folk\u201d, \u201cregular people\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041c\u044b \u043b\u044e<\/span>\u0434\u0438 \u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0435. \u0427\u0442\u043e \u043d\u0430\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u043f\u0440\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u0442, \u0442\u043e \u0438 \u0432\u044b\u043f\u043e\u043b\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0435\u043c.\u00bb<\/strong> [We are the little guys. What the bosses say we do, we do.]<\/p>\n

As you know, not only Andrei Fokich was of short statue and unremarkable personality, but his query to Woland was petty and insignificant in nature. And while we don\u2019t know whether another of the chapter\u2019s \u201cvisitors\u201d, Maximilian Poplavsky, was short or tall, his reason for seeing Woland was no less petty than Fokich\u2019s.<\/p>\n

A synonym of \u00ab\u043c\u0430\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0435 \u043b\u044e\u0434\u0438\u00bb is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u043a\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [a small-timer]. It\u2019s a \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0431\u0440\u0435\u0436\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [contemptuous] way to describe someone who has no influence or significance in the society:<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0414\u0430 <\/strong>\u0447\u0442\u043e <\/strong>\u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span> <\/strong>\u0441\u043b\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u0430\u0442\u044c! <\/strong>\u041e\u043d \u0436\u0435 \u043c\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u043a\u0430\u044f \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0430 \u0432 \u044d<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u0439 \u0444\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u043c\u0435.\u00bb <\/strong>[Why listen to him! He\u2019s just a rank-and-file worker at this firm.]<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what\u2019s really interesting to me. Typically, \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [little person], when he appears in Russian literary works from Pushkin to Chekhov, is someone who is essentially a kind and harmless person who means and does no evil.<\/p>\n

Yet here, in Master and Margarita, I don\u2019t get the same impression at all. Why? By now we know that Woland and his \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [retinue] do not arbitrarily administer their peculiar punishments to both guilty and guiltless. There\u2019s a method to the madness – the guilty ones are exposed and punished.<\/p>\n

The way the two \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0438\u0437\u0438\u0442\u0451<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [visitors] are treated by Woland leaves little doubt to whether they are guilty or not, don\u2019t you think? We don\u2019t know the exact nature of their wrong-doings. Hey, we don\u2019t even know if Andrei Fokich\u2019s savings were \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0438\u0442\u044b <\/strong>\u043d\u0435\u0447\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043d\u044b\u043c <\/strong>\u043f\u0443\u0442\u0451<\/span>\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> [earned through dishonest means]). But something is fishy.<\/p>\n

And speaking of fishy\u2026 Did you catch the phrase \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0441\u0435\u0442\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0441\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [sturgeon of second-grade freshness]? Coined by Bulgakov, this is now \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0440\u044b\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u0432\u044b\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [a catchphrase].<\/p>\n

First, a bit of history\u2026 It might sound unbelievable, but slightly damaged or past their prime goods, including food, used to be sold, discounted and marked \u201csecond-grade\u201d, to general public (yep, to \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0435 <\/strong>\u043b\u044e<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u00bb<\/strong>). Since in the Soviet Union the government was the owner of all the \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [goods] as well as the quality controller, the regulator, and the enforcer, it made a lot of sense to sell instead of to send to a landfill. Combine that with widespread and persistent \u00ab<\/strong>\u0434\u0435\u0444\u0438\u0446\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [lack of] many consumer goods and food items, and you can see that the public wasn\u2019t terribly opposed to the idea of buying something \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0432\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u0441\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [not exactly fresh].<\/p>\n

Nowadays the phrase \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0432\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u0441\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> and \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0441\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> refers to many things other than food – news, political movements, concerts, theater productions, personal appearances, etc. In general, anything that is outdated, worn-out, used one too many times, irrelevant is said to be \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0441\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [of second-grade freshness].<\/p>\n

But back to our little people\u2026 I think one way to interpret Poplavsky\u2019s and Fomich\u2019s punishments is through yet another translation of \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> – \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u0438\u043a <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u043c\u0430\u0448\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [a cog], in a sense of an average person performing routine functions day in and day out.<\/p>\n

Many of the crimes, big and little, that are committed by regimes, are committed because of acquiescence of the simple folks, of cogs. Bulgakov\u2019s own tragedy – being cast out, criticized, silenced and ignored – was a testament to the not-so-innocent \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0435 <\/strong>\u043b\u044e<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [regular folks].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

How much do I love bookstores? So much that I am ready to fly to Moscow for just one day to browse through books at “\u0411\u0438\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043e-\u0413\u043b\u043e\u0431\u0443\u0441” (one of the largest bookstores in Moscow). While I’m saving up for the transatlantic flight, I shop online and, when possible, on Brighton Beach (Brooklyn, NY). That’s where I…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":1543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1018,9247,1153,9432,9270,385641,12422],"class_list":["post-1542","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-bulgakov","tag-master-and-margarita","tag-mikhail-bulgakov","tag-reading-in-russian","tag-reading-russian-novel","tag-reading-together","tag-russian-catchphrases"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1542"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11301,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions\/11301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}