Bulat okudzhava family personal life. Helping a student. Poetic and singing activity

Biography and episodes of life Bulat Okudzhava. When born and died Bulat Okudzhava, memorable places and dates important events his life. Quotes of a poet, writer, musician, Photo and video.

Years of life of Bulat Okudzhava:

born May 9, 1924, died June 12, 1997

Epitaph

“Ah, the gray-haired guitarist looks so clumsy.
Why do souls tremble so much?
And today to him, only to him alone
Even the gods - and they applaud.
From a poem by Ilya Kulev in memory of Okudzhava

“It will still get better, and they will turn on the light,
But Bulat Shalvych will not be here. Not".
From Oleg Mityaev's song "Peredelkino"

Biography

Biography of Bulat Okudzhava - complicated story the life of a man who has gone through a lot. His family was arrested and his father was shot. As a boy, he went to work in a factory, and then, still a boy, he went to the front as a volunteer, where he was wounded. After the war, Okudzhava graduated from the university in Tbilisi, worked as a teacher in rural schools, and only at the age of 32 published his first collection of poems, which he began to write during the war. Yevtushenko admitted that he did not like Okudzhava's first poems, but even then he felt that in this modest low young man have real talent.

Shortly after moving to Moscow, Okudzhava began to perform with his poems and songs, which quickly brought him popularity. His future life was associated with creativity - he participated in literary associations, headed the department of poetry in " Literary newspaper”, Worked at the publishing house “Young Guard”. In 1962, when he joined the Writers' Union of the USSR, Okudzhava first appeared on television, starring in the film Chain Reaction, in which he performed his song. But Okudzhava's song, written by him for the film "Belarusian Station", brought universal love and fame to the poet. Later, Bulat Shalvovich was recognized as the author of lyrics for songs in such films as "The Straw Hat", "Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha" and many others. etc. During his life, Okudzhava wrote songs for more than eighty films. Surprisingly, the first disc with his songs was released in Paris, and only a few years later - in the USSR. He also wrote prose. In 1994, Okudzhava received the Russian Booker Prize for his autobiographical novel The Abolished Theatre.

Despite the difficult childhood, the fact that Okudzhava was not published for a long time in the USSR and his performances were prevented, that he was always a vulnerable and sensitive person, he himself admitted that all his life he had been doing what gave him pleasure, like poetry, prose or songs. And when one process ended, he simply moved on to another. Okudzhava was the same in love, perhaps because he was married twice. Perhaps that is why an affair with Natalya Gorlenko was so fruitful and painful for him at the same time. Nevertheless, at the time of Okudzhava's death, his second wife, Olga, was by his side, for a long time was engaged in tours and performances of her husband.

Okudzhava's death occurred in the suburbs of Paris, Clamart, in a military hospital. The cause of Okudzhava's death was a heart attack. Okudzhava's funeral was held in Moscow, Okudzhava's grave is located at the Vagankovsky cemetery. To this day, evenings and concerts are dedicated to the memory of Okudzhava, his songs are performed and books of his poems and prose are published.


Okudzhava's relationship with Natalia Gorlenko greatly influenced his work - before meeting with Natalia, he had a period of "creative stagnation"

life line

May 9, 1924 Date of birth of Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava.
1940 Moving Okudzhava to Tbilisi.
1942 Okudzhava's departure to the front as a volunteer.
1945 Admission to Tbilisi State University.
1950 Graduation from university, work at school.
1954 Birth of son Igor.
1956 Release of the first poetry collection of Okudzhava "Lyric".
1959 Return to Moscow, the beginning of performances as a songwriter.
1961 Publication of Okudzhava's autobiographical story "Be healthy, schoolboy".
1964 Divorce from first wife Galina Smolyaninova.
1965 The birth of Bulat's son (Anton) from marriage with Olga Okudzhava.
1962 Obtaining membership of the Writers' Union of the USSR, film debut.
1981 Acquaintance with Natalia Gorlenko.
June 23, 1995 Okudzhava's last concert at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
June 12, 1997 Date of Okudzhava's death.

Memorable places

1. Okudzhava's house on the Arbat, where he lived as a child.
2. Tbilisi State University, where Okudzhava studied.
3. The village of Shamordino, where Okudzhava lived and worked after graduation.
4. The building of the Literaturnaya Gazeta editorial office, where Okudzhava worked as the head of the poetry department.
5. UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where Okudzhava's last concert took place.
6. Parisian suburb of Clamart, where Okudzhava died.
7. Museum Okudzhava in the village of writers Peredelkino.
8. Monument to Bulat Okudzhava at the corner of Arbat and Plotnikov Lane.
9. Monument to Bulat Okudzhava on Academician Bakulev Street.
10. Vagankovsky cemetery, where Okudzhava is buried.

Episodes of life

When the war began, Bulat Okudzhava was 17 years old, he was not drafted. Then he, along with his friends, began to go to the draft board and demand that they be taken into the army. At first, the captain, who worked in the military registration and enlistment office, yelled at the boys, then got used to their importunity and even instructed to deliver the summons, for which the guys were often beaten, because they brought bitter news. Then Okudzhava left school, but continued to go to the draft board and annoy the captain. Finally, he could not stand it, gave the guys blank forms and said: “Here are the agendas for you, write them yourself.” The boys sat down and wrote. So Okudzhava went to the front.

Bulat Shalvovich seemed to have a presentiment that his earthly life would end in Paris. A month before his death, Okudzhava wrote poetry:

Gather here from time to time
Flocks of guests from the Russian tribe,
Take a break from birth burden
Suddenly flown into this Paris,
Where you do not want to, soar.


Okudzhava and Vysotsky had a long friendship, Vysotsky often spoke about Okudzhava in his speeches and even called him his spiritual father

Covenant

“Do not defeat the enemy in another, but in yourself,
And when you succeed in this,
No more fooling around
That's how you become a man."

"Let's understand each other perfectly,
So that, having made a mistake once, do not make a mistake again.
Let's live, indulging each other in everything, -
Especially since life is so short.


Documentary film in memory of Okudzhava "Arbat Romance"

condolences

“Maybe in the next century, in the new millennium, the human race will finally read carefully what Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava wrote for him. And it will become fairer, more merciful and correct.”
Eli Bar-Yahalom, Israeli poet

“For me, Okudzhava is the most significant Russian poet of the late twentieth century, at least in my personal, including artistic education. The combination of simplicity and grace, tenderness and courage, most importantly, a happy gift of love that allows a person to soar above the earth, even if war, lies and betrayal, greed and meanness are ready to devour him almost every minute.
Oleg Pogudin, musician, performer of romances

“The last time he called me on the phone before leaving for the West: “Well, we won’t see you again.” I say: “I saw you on TV, we saw you very well.” We laughed. It was our last time dialect On May 9, as usual, I dial the number (every year I congratulated him on his birthday and Victory Day) - answered the answering machine. And a month later he was gone ... He was buried at the Vagankovsky cemetery. Simple on the grave wooden cross. After all, he was baptized before his death under the name John.
Valentina Innocent, poetess

“I felt everything that happened to him in Paris from a distance. I don't even want to remember ambulance, and all this ... And now I just feel that he is in a different world, and we communicate with him. Sometimes I catch myself looking for his traits in other men. And external, and something elusive. This is probably already embedded in me ... "
Natalya Gorlenko, singer, friend of Okudzhava

Bulat Okudzhava is known in our country as a poet and composer, as well as a screenwriter, prose writer and simply very talented and interesting person. He claimed that making songs - great mystery, incomprehensible as love. We will talk about the fate of this great bard in our article.

Origin

Okudzhava Bulat, whose biography is of interest to many, was born in 1924, on May 9. He grew up in a family of staunch Bolsheviks. His parents came to Moscow from Tiflis to study at the Communist Academy. The father of the future celebrity - Shalva Stepanovich - is Georgian by nationality. He was a prominent party leader. Mom - Ashkhen Stepanovna - is an Armenian by birth. She was a relative of the famous Armenian poet Vahan Teryan. On the mother's side, the celebrity had relatives with a combative and ambiguous past. His uncle, Vladimir Okudzhava, being a terrorist, made an attempt on the life of the governor of Kutaisi. Later, he happened to appear on the passenger lists of the mysterious sealed carriage that brought leading revolutionary leaders from Switzerland to Russia in 2017.

distant ancestors

Okudzhava Bulat Shalvovich was aware of the fate of his ancestors from childhood. His paternal great-grandfather Pavel Peremushev settled in sunny Georgia in the middle of the 19th century. Before that, he served 25 years in Russian army. By nationality, he was either Russian, or Moldavian, or Jewish. It is only known that Paul was a tailor, married a Georgian woman named Salome and produced three daughters. The eldest of them subsequently married Stepan Okudzhava. He served as a clerk. Eight children were born in his marriage. Among them was future father our hero - Shalva Stepanovich.

Childhood and youth

From childhood, Okudzhava Bulat endured various trials. The biography of the future poet was associated with constant moving. The fact is that his father was a party leader. Immediately after the birth of his son, he was sent to the Caucasus to command a Georgian division. Bulat's mother, meanwhile, remained in Moscow. She held a position in the party apparatus. The boy was sent to study in Tiflis. He attended a Russian-speaking class. His father was soon promoted. He became secretary of the Tiflis city committee. However, he failed to stay in this position due to conflicts with Beria. With the assistance of Ordzhonikidze, Shalva Stepanovich was transferred to work in Nizhny Tagil. He moved his entire family to the Urals. Bulat studied at school number 32. It was not easy for him to get used to the harsh Siberian conditions after living in a friendly and sunny region.

Arrests

In 1937 tragedy struck. The boy's father was arrested. He was accused of having links with the Trotskyists, as well as an attempt on the life of Ordzhonikidze. On August 4 of the same year, he was shot. After that, Bulat, together with his mother and grandmother, moved to Moscow. The family settled in a communal apartment on the Arbat. But the troubles didn't end there. In 1938, Ashkhen Stepanovna was taken into custody. She was exiled to Karlag. From there she returned only in 1947. Aunt Bulat was shot in 1941. In 1940, our hero moved to Tbilisi. Here he graduated from high school and got a job at the plant as an apprentice turner.

War years

Bulat Okudzhava, whose poems are known to everyone, in April 1942 sought to be drafted into the army. However, he was drafted into the ranks Soviet troops only upon reaching the age of majority. In August of the same year, he was sent to the tenth reserve mortar division. Two months later he was sent to the Transcaucasian Front as a mortar man. He served in the cavalry regiment of the 5th Guards Don Cossack Cavalry Corps. At the end of 1942, the future poet was wounded in the battle of Mozdok. After treatment, Bulat Shalvovich did not return to the front line. In 1943, he joined the Batumi reserve rifle regiment, and was later involved as a radio operator in the 126th howitzer artillery brigade, which at that time covered the border with Iran and Turkey. In the spring of 1944, our hero was demobilized. For conscientious service, he was awarded two medals - "For the Defense of the Caucasus" and "For the Victory over Germany". In 1985 he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree.

First creative experiences

After demobilization, Okudzhava Bulat returned to Tbilisi. The biography of the poet was scorched by the war. However, he was determined to return to habitual life and do what you love. First, the young man received a certificate of secondary education. Then, in 1945, he entered the Faculty of Philology at Tbilisi University. He successfully graduated in 1950 and worked for two and a half years as a teacher in Kaluga region. All this time our hero wrote talented poems. His first song is considered to be the composition “We couldn’t sleep in cold cars”. It was created during the poet's service in the artillery brigade. The text of the work has not been preserved. But the second creation has come down to our days. This is an "Old Student Song" written in 1946. The author's writings were first published in the garrison newspaper under the title "Fighter of the Red Army". It was published under the pseudonym A. Dolzhenov.

Career development

In the Kaluga region, he collaborated with the publication "Young Leninist" Bulat Okudzhava. The poet's poems were first published in large circulation in 1956 in the collection Lyrics. In the same year, the father and mother of the poet were rehabilitated. After the XX Congress of the CPSU, he joined communist party. Three years later he moved to Moscow and began to give concerts of the author's song. As a bard, he quickly gained popularity. In the period from 1956 to 1967, the most famous songs of Bulat Shalvovich were written - “On Tverskoy Boulevard”, “Song about the Komsomol goddess”, “Song about the blue ball” and others.

official recognition

Okudzhava Bulat Shalvovich first performed at his official evening in 1961. The benefit performance was held in Kharkov. In 1962, the poet made his debut as an actor. He played in the film "Chain Reaction". Here he happened to perform one of his most famous songs - "Midnight Trolleybus". In 1970, Soviet viewers saw the film "Belarusian Station". In it, the actors sang the unspoken anthem of Soviet citizens who overcame the monstrous trials of the Great Patriotic War, - "We need one victory". Okudzhava also became the author of other favorite songs from the films Straw Hat and Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha. The author wrote musical compositions for eighty paintings.

Records

In 1967, Bulat Okudzhava made a trip to Paris. The poet's songs became known not only in Russia, but also abroad. In France, he recorded twenty of his songs at the Le Chant du Monde studio. A year later, based on these tracks, the first disc of the bard was released. In the same period, another Okudzhava album was released. It included songs performed by Polish singers. The composition "Farewell to Poland" was recorded in the author's interpretation.

The work of Bulat Okudzhava was gaining more and more popularity. In the mid-1970s, his records were also released in the Soviet Union. In 1976 and 1978, Soviet giant discs with recordings of the singer and poet appeared on sale. The mid-1980s were also very fruitful for Bulat Shalvovich. He created two more albums - "Songs and poems about the war" and "The author performs new songs."

The poet Bulat Okudzhava composed several songs based on the texts of the Polish author - Agnieszka Osiecka. He himself translated into Russian the poems he liked. In collaboration with the composer Schwartz, our hero created thirty-two songs. Among them - "Your Honor, Mrs. Luck", "Cavalier Guards are short-lived ...", "Love and separation".

Cultural heritage

Became one of the brightest representatives of the art song genre in Russia Okudzhava Bulat. The biography of the poet became the subject of close study. His work was admired, they tried to imitate him. With the advent of tape recorders, soulful author's compositions became known wide audience. Vladimir Vysotsky called Bulat Shalvovich his teacher. A.A. Galich and Y. Vizbor became his followers. The author and performer managed to create a unique direction in the Russian song culture.

Among the intelligentsia, Bulat Okudzhava won a strong authority. Celebrity songs were distributed in tape recordings. First they became famous in the USSR, then they became popular abroad among Russian emigrants. Some compositions - "Let's join hands, friends ...", "Francois Villon's Prayer" - have become iconic. They were used as anthems at rallies and festivals.

Personal life

Bulat Okudzhava was married twice. The personal life of the poet was not easy. For the first time he was married to Galina Smolyaninova. However living together spouses from the very beginning did not ask. Their daughter died as an infant, and their son became a drug addict and ended up in prison.

The second attempt was more successful. The poet married the physicist Olga Artsimovich. The son of Bulat Okudzhava from his second marriage - Anton - followed in the footsteps of his father, became a rather famous composer.

There was another beloved woman in the life of the bard. His civil wife for a long time there was Natalia Gorlenko. She herself very subtly felt the music, sang songs. Bulat Okudzhava was happy with her. The personal life of this remarkable person at that time is associated with the most pleasant impressions.

Social activity

Perestroika in the Soviet Union captured Bulat Shalvovich. He began to take an active part in political life countries. showed negative relationship to Lenin and Stalin, had a negative attitude towards the totalitarian regime. In 1990, the bard left the CPSU. Since 1992, he has worked in commissions under the President of Russia. Dealt with issues of pardon and appropriation State Prizes RF. Was a member of Memorial. Acutely dressed up military operations in Chechnya.

Completion of life

In the 1990s, the poet settled in his own dacha in Peredelkino. During this period, he actively toured. Traveled with concerts to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Canada, Germany and Israel. In 1995, he took the stage for the last time. The speech took place in Paris, at the UNESCO Headquarters.

In 1997 the poet died. He died at the age of 74 in a military hospital in the suburbs of Paris. Before his death, he was baptized with the name John in honor of the holy martyr John the Warrior. This happened after the blessing of one of the spiritual leaders of the Pskov-Caves Monastery.

Our hero is buried in Moscow, at the Vagankovsky cemetery. His grave is decorated simply and unpretentiously - a block of stone with the bard's name written in handwritten script.

Monuments

The first monument to Bulat Okudzhava was opened in 2002 in the capital. It stands at the intersection of the Arbat and Plotnikov lane. Its author is George Frangulyan. The creation of the monument was timed to coincide with two anniversaries- Victory Day and poet's birthday. The creators have recreated a piece of the old Arbat courtyard: a doorway, two benches, a living tree... In the center of the composition is the figure of a bard. This sculptural complex recalls the work of the bard and his nostalgic memories.

The second monument was erected on Bakulev Street. The monument represents the young poet. He fearlessly looks to the future. On his shoulders is a frilly jacket thrown over. From under the floors one can see a faithful companion - a guitar. The composition is on the rise. A hill-flower bed serves as a pedestal. Two paths lead to its foot. This is connected with the bard's unforgettable lines about two roads, one of which is "beautiful, but in vain", and the other - "apparently in earnest".

Conclusion

Now you know what kind of life Bulat Okudzhava lived. The poet's family kept the best memories of him. This man lived and worked at the behest of his heart. And his heartfelt poems are about you and me. About love, temptations, duty, personal participation, about the ability to empathize, overcome difficulties, not be afraid of future trials. About a quivering dream, reckless youth and touching, full of memories, maturity. The legacy of the bard has forever entered the fund of Russian and world culture.

Bulat Okudzhava was married twice, but there were many more of those with whom he fell in love. And no matter how it ends love stories poet, he continued to bow before His Majesty the Woman ...

school love

Nizhny Tagil, tense pre-war years. Bulat is in the fourth grade and is in love for the first time in his life - with classmate Lelya. She treats him calmly, not singling out other boys from the crowd, but Bulat does not leave courtship.

There were frequent power outages at the school, and barely a light bulb in again was going out, he rushed to Lelya's desk, sat down next to her and silently pressed his shoulder to it.


When the parents decided to transfer Bulat to another school, it was a real blow for him. Infinitely bored, he sent the girl his photo with the caption "Lele from Bulat." There was no answer, and then Bulat went to the old school to look at it with at least one eye.

“I’m telling a topic on history, and suddenly I see: a familiar face looms outside the window. Almost fainted. After the lessons, Bulat walked me home. He walked behind, carried my briefcase and, as always, was silent, ”recalled after many years the same Lelya - Olga Nikolaevna Meleshchenko.

Their next meeting took place only 60 years later, in the Nizhny Tagil literary club "By candlelight". The poet did not recognize his first love, but when Olga Nikolaevna was introduced to him, he was very moved. For three years, the woman received nine letters from him, which stopped coming only after the death of Okudzhava.

Unfulfilled love

Okudzhava volunteered for the war, but did not reach the 45th - he was discharged due to a severe wound. Bulat briefly came to Moscow to visit relatives (his father was shot back in 1937 on a false denunciation, and his mother was arrested as the wife of an enemy of the people). On the Moscow Arbat, Bulat met the girl Valya.

The school story repeated itself: she allowed to take care of herself, but things didn’t go any further - Valya gave preference to Comrade Bulat. But he fell in love so much that he began to write poetry:

your heart, as in abandoned house window, Locked up tight it's not close anymore... And followed you

because I'm destined I'm destined for the world looking for you... He will not publish these lines anywhere - too personal. But Valya will keep them. And when Valentina Leontieva becomes famous throughout the country, they will often remember their author, the symbol of the generation of Bulat Okudzhava.

She would never have started looking for a meeting with him, if not for the request of the television editor, who wanted to invite Okudzhava on the air. Leontieva felt embarrassed, but nevertheless dialed the poet's number, and in order for him to recognize her, she quoted the same poem. Bulat could not even think that "Aunt Valya" from the TV was his post-war love. 50 years after their last meeting, he gave her a collection of his poems, terribly regretting the lost time: "How much could have been otherwise ..."

First wife


After Moscow was Tbilisi. Here Bulat Okudzhava entered the institute, received a diploma and began working in his specialty - a teacher. Together with him, his first wife, Galina Smolyaninova, also taught. They met as students, and Galya was able to give Bulat what he so desperately lacked - care, homeliness, warmth of his native hearth. Having lost his parents early, he missed his family and therefore hurried to create his own. It was Galina who inspired Bulat to try to set the poems to music - she had a wonderful voice and ear. The news that they would become parents delighted both, but the pregnancy ended in tragedy: the daughter died shortly after giving birth. The marriage cracked, although both Bulat and Galina made every effort to save him. The birth of Igor's son did not help either. Okudzhava has already been famous poet: he moved his family to Moscow, attended meetings of writers with Galina, but it was just a screen behind which two people who had moved away from each other did not dare to make a final break. So far, at one of the friendly evenings, Okudzhava met Olga Artsimovich.

Second wife

She swears that that evening she had no idea who Bulat Okudzhava was. Fully devoted to science, the girl did not read poetry, did not listen to songs. But when I saw Okudzhava, I immediately realized that this was Genius.

“A wife has no right to speak of her husband in such terms. But then I really had no idea who he was, and therefore I rightly thought: this is a genius. And she has never changed this point of view since then, ”Artsimovich said. The next day he invited her to a meeting at the Central House of Writers. They talked for three hours without a break, feeling an incredible spiritual kinship - even though he was a lyricist, and she was a physicist. On the same evening, Okudzhava asked Olga to become his wife. He divorced Galina, she broke up with her husband. They began to live in Leningrad with Olga. Family happiness a year later was overshadowed by a real drama. Okudzhava's first wife, outwardly calmly accepting their divorce, died a year later from heart failure. Bulat tried to take their son Igor to him - but Galya's relatives did not allow it. And how would they fit in a tiny Leningrad room with two children (Olga had given birth to Bulat Jr. by that time)? Gali's early departure (she was only 39) and tragic fate son until the end of his life were the ongoing pain of Bulat Shalvovich. Igor grew up weak-willed and led, got into a bad company, began to use drugs. He died at the age of 43 - a few months before the death of his father.

last love


Their meeting happened by chance, but Natalya claims that she had a premonition of it from the moment she first heard Okudzhava's "Prayer". April 3, 1981, she is 26, he is 30 years older. But love covered both with a head. Okudzhava spoke at the Institute of Soviet Legislation, where Natasha Gorlenko worked. At a meeting with the poet's staff, the girls surrounded the poet, who shouted with each other: "You should have listened to how she sings!". She was embarrassed, he smiled. Having already left the institute, Okudzhava saw that Natasha was catching up with him, and offered to see him off. She refused - her husband was waiting for her. Five months later, the same tragedy occurred in the girl’s life that Okudzhava once experienced: her child died after childbirth. Trying to cope with the pain, she dialed his number and offered to meet. That's how they started secret romance. “We were constantly rushing somewhere, changing trains and cars. He especially revealed himself when we left Moscow. On the road, in the carriages, in the endless flickering of telegraph poles ... He even wrote a poem on this topic: “All lovers are prone to escape ...”, Natalya said. The owner of a beautiful voice, she soon began to accompany him at concerts, where she sometimes won more applause than Okudzhava himself. He was very proud of it. “Ptichkin,” the poet called his last love. He was tormented by a constant sense of guilt - both before Natasha and before Olga. Okudzhava did not dare to divorce his wife, instead they broke up with Natalya for seven whole years. She managed to get married, give birth to a son, then divorce. And all this time I felt everything that was happening with Bulat. When he was dying in Olga's arms in Paris, Gorlenko also had to call an ambulance. When she came to herself, she learned about the death of the poet.

Biography

Bulat Okudzhava was born in Moscow on May 9, 1924 in a family of communists who came from Tiflis to study at the Communist Academy. Father - Shalva Stepanovich Okudzhava, Georgian, well-known party leader, mother - Ashkhen Stepanovna Nalbandyan, Armenian, relative of the famous Armenian poet Vahan Teryan.

Soon after the birth of Bulat, his father was sent to the Caucasus to work as a commissar of the Georgian division. Mother remained in Moscow, worked in the party apparatus. Bulat was sent to Tbilisi to study, studied in the Russian class. Father was promoted to secretary of the Tbilisi city committee; due to a conflict with Lavrenty Beria, he wrote a letter to Sergo Ordzhonikidze with a request to send him to party work in Russia, and was sent to the Urals as a party organizer to build a car building plant in the city of Nizhny Tagil. Then Shalva Stepanovich became the 1st secretary of the Nizhny Tagil City Party Committee and soon sent his family to his Urals. Bulat began to study at school number 32.

In 1937, Okudzhava's father was arrested and shot on false charges (August 4, 1937). Shortly after his father's arrest, in February 1937, his mother, grandmother and Bulat moved to Moscow. The first place of residence in Moscow - st. Arbat, 43, communal apartment on the 4th floor. Okudzhava's mother was already arrested in Moscow in 1938 and exiled to the Karaganda camp, from where she returned only in 1955. Bulat Okudzhava rarely spoke and wrote about his ancestors and his fate, only towards the end of his life in the autobiographical novel Abolished Theater (1993) did he talk about the hardships of his family.

In 1956, after the rehabilitation of both parents and the XX Congress, he joined the CPSU.

In 1959 Okudzhava returned to Moscow. In the same year, he began to act as a songwriter (poetry and music) and perform them with a guitar, quickly gaining popularity. This period (1956-1967) includes the composition of many of the most famous early songs. Okudzhava(“On Tverskoy Boulevard”, “Song about Lyonka Korolev”, “Song about the blue ball”, “Sentimental March”, “Song about the midnight trolleybus”, “Not tramps, not drunkards”, “Moscow Ant”, “Song about the Komsomol goddess, etc.).

He worked as an editor at the Young Guard publishing house, then as the head of the poetry department at the Literaturnaya Gazeta. Participated in the work of the literary association "Magistral".

In 1961, he left the service and no longer worked for hire, being engaged exclusively in creative activities.

In 1961, the first official evening of the author's song in the USSR took place in Kharkov. Bulat Okudzhava. The evening was organized by literary critic L. Ya. Livshits, with whom B. Okudzhava had friendly relations. In 1962, Okudzhava became a member of the Writers' Union of the USSR. In the same year, Okudzhava first appeared on the screen in the film Chain Reaction, in which he performed the song Midnight Trolleybus.

In 1970, the film "Belorussky Station" was released, in which the song Bulat Okudzhava"We need one victory". Okudzhava- the author of other popular songs for such films as "Straw Hat", "Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha" (in it Okudzhava sings in a cameo role with a guitar in a soldier's uniform), etc. In total, Okudzhava's songs and on his poems sound in more than 80 films. Okudzhava became one of the most prominent representatives the genre of Russian art song (along with V. S. Vysotsky and A. A. Galich), which was soon developed by bards and which, with the advent of tape recorders, gained immense popularity. In this genre, Okudzhava formed his own direction.

Historical novels

1969 - "Poor Avrosimov"
1970 - "The Adventures of Shipov, or Ancient Vaudeville"
1976 - "Amateur Journey"
1983 - "Date with Bonaparte"
1993 - "Abolished Theater"

Collections

1967 - "Magnanimous March"
1976 - "Arbat, my Arbat"
1984 - "Poems"
1989 - Favorites
1988 - "Dedicated to you"
1993 - Grace of Fate
1996 - "Waiting Room"
1996 - "Tea drinking on the Arbat"

Bulat Okudzhava is a whole era in the Soviet author's song. It is so different and at the same time recognizable. Among his poems, each person will find some text that will touch the depths of the soul.

You can't say that about every poet. His texts are both simple and complex at the same time. The works of Bulat Shalvovich reflect the good and bad moments of the author's life.

Name change

Bulat Okudzhava was born on May 9, 1924 in Moscow. Parents who admired the writer Oscar Wilde, and especially his work The Picture of Dorian Gray, named their newborn son Dorian. To the moment necessary registration son Shalva decided that the name "Dorian" was too pompous for the young Soviet citizen. And he was changed to a more modest and familiar to the Georgian ear name "Bulat". Subsequently, Okudzhava will also name his son Bulat, but at home the child will be called "Antoshka", in honor of his favorite toy.

Baby nickname

Okudzhava's childhood nickname was " Cuckoo". There are two main versions of origin. The first says that the infantile cooing of the poet resembled the cry of a cuckoo. So it seemed to his grandmother on his father's side. And according to the second version, Bulat was so named because he constantly wandered around the relatives of his father and mother. The bard wrote about this in his autobiographical novel Abolished Theatre. Reproaches that Ashkhen throws his son to various relatives and does not raise him herself were attributed to Aunt Sylvia.

Lavrenty Beria and the Okudzhava family

According to the legend of the Okudzhava family, Lavrenty Beria was in love with the mother of Bulat Shalvovich, Ashkhen. Allegedly, one of the reasons for hatred for Shalva Okudzhava was this love for a beautiful Armenian woman. It was because of disagreements with Beria that Shalva was transferred from Georgia to Russia. However, the conflict occurred more on political grounds than on personal grounds.

Subsequently, in 1939, being in complete obscurity after the arrest of Shalva, Ashkhen will turn to Beria for help. He promises to help and quickly sends her out. But Shaliko Okudzhava was already dead by that moment (the trial in his case took place on August 4, 1937, on the same day the sentence was carried out). The day after the visit to Beria, Bulat's mother was arrested, sentenced to five years in the camps and to subsequent exile.

Shot

O this fact biography of the poet is known only from his novel " Abolished theater". But this is hardly intentional.

When Bulat was eleven years old, he was friends with thirteen-year-old Athanasius Dergach, who worked at a construction site. The friendship was somewhat unequal, the son of the Party organizer Okudzhava and the ragamuffin Dergach. But Afonka and Bulat found their own in each other. Bulat retold school lessons to Afonka. And Bulat himself was attracted to Dergach by a certain “maturity”. Still, he works at a construction site, lives an independent life.

And one far from perfect day, apparently wanting to show off like a boy, Okudzhava dragged off his father's Browning and, together with Afonka and his friends, went to the taiga. The autobiographical novel does not explain how the shot happened, but it did. Luckily for the party organizer's son, the bullet did not hit Afonka's vital organs and went right through. But Dergach never forgave Okudzhava. At the meeting, Afonka hit Bulat in the nose with his fist. On this they life paths dispersed.

school ringleader

At twelve, Okudzhava was a far from quiet boy. The leader of the class, as they say, the first guy in the village. He will come up with French wrestling classes in the hallway of his house, where he acts as a gambling arbiter. That organizes the orchestra, and now all the students of his school represent the xylophone, trumpet or ukulele. Or he will persuade the whole class to hum softly, annoying the teacher and disrupting classes.

He also organized the Union of Young Writers (YuP), for entry into which it was necessary to write a story. All these pranks ended after the arrest of his father and the announcement of Bulat "the son of an enemy of the people." After these events, something inside the poet broke. And from a leader, he turned into an inconspicuous and shy boy.

Recognition in "Spark"

Okudzhava, in an interview with Ogonyok magazine, recalls another of his unseemly acts. In 1945 he left home and settled with one of his college friends. A friend was a visitor and rented a room. Classmates lived in poverty, even hungry. And when a friend went away for a short time to relatives, Bulat stole a piece of fabric hidden in a suitcase from him.

He later sold the piece on the market and spent the money very quickly. The returned friend discovered the loss, but openly did not blame Okudzhava for it. But it was precisely this circumstance that subsequently divorced friends.

Farewell to Anna Akhmatova

Few people know about it, but the song "Farewell to the New Year Tree" was written in memory of the wonderful poetess Anna Akhmatova, who died in March 1966. Her subtle and vivid image is clearly read in these verses.

"Deadly fire awaits us..."

According to the actor and director Andrei Smirnov, the co-author of the music for the song “We won’t stand up for the price ...”, which was performed for the first time in the film “Belorussky Station”, was the composer Alfred Schnittke, who almost completely changed the musical sequence of the work. At the same time, Schnittke insisted that his name should not be indicated in the credits and that the authorship belonged entirely to Bulat Okudzhava.

Political activities of Bulat Okudzhava

According to Alexander Ginzburg, the poet served as a liaison between the Solzhenitsyn Foundation in Paris and Soviet political prisoners. He gave them money from the fund.

Okudzhava carried anti-Soviet literature in trousers and skillfully imitated sciatica at customs if he suddenly had to bend over. He was never caught.

In 1993, on October 4, Bulat Okudzhava became one of those who signed the “letter of forty-two”. That is, he supported and, in his own way, approved the actions of the government, or, well, shared with him the responsibility for these acts. After that, many sharply condemned the bard, and Vladimir Gostyukhin publicly trampled on the record with Okudzhava's songs. These events left a significant mark not only in the soul of the poet, but also undermined his health. Until his death, these reproaches haunted the son of Shaliko.

Okudzhava and Poland

The poet has always been loved in the USSR, but not in the same way as in Poland. After all, the very first disc of Bulat was published just in Poland. True, it was not Bulat Shalvovich himself who performed the songs, but Polish artists. Since 1995, annual festivals in honor of the bard have been held in Poland.

There were many interesting events in the life of the poet, they cannot all be contained in one article, and in one book too.