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PAST EVENTS
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A heartwarming evening of song, music, romance (perchance even love) and vibrant, friendly chat! Wednesday,
14th May 2008
"TRAVELS IN SIBERIA 1961-1995" talk by John Massey Stewart, with many
breathtaking slides John Massey Stewart - writer, photographer, Siberian specialist, consultant and environmental activist - talked about d his 11 totally different visits to Siberia and the Soviet/Russian Far East between 1961 and 1995. They ranged from botanical, geographical, and environmental to NATO and World Bank-sponsored journeys, two weeks in a rubber boat through a huge nature reserve, and an exhibition he devised on 400 years of historic British-Siberian links. His travels have taken him several times to Lake Baikal, from the frozen Ob' estuary to Vladivostok in high summer, and have included a visit to Khanty nomadic reindeer-herders and a red-carpet tour of the Buryat Republic. Monday, 21st April 2008 "THE IMAGE OF THE ROAD IN RUSSIAN CULTURE" Talk by Jenny Antill (in English), with many slides of Russian paintings, and extracts from Russian literature. This talk was a tremendous success at the Summer Russian School in Essex last July, and, more recently, at Gainsborough's House in Sudbury. MORE ABOUT THE TALK: Everything is interlinked in this talk by Jenny Antill - the idea of the Road in Russian literature, poetry, visual art and on the stage, all the way throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It was not until the 1700s that the Russians were allowed to travel freely both outside and within the country. Come and find out about early Russian travel writings, and how the physical state of Russian roads has been changing (or not??) over the centuries. Jenny will talk about the work of the "WANDERERS" (Peredvizhniki), who broke away from the constraints of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and plunged into the real life of 19th-century Russia, sometimes full of poetry and quiet beauty, and sometimes of sadness and distress. She will also look at the recurring image of the ROAD TO SIBERIA, bitterly remembered in Russian history for it was the road to exile, labour camps and prisons. There's something for everyone: NON-RUSSIANS will discover more about the Russian culture, whereas NATIVE RUSSIANS are likely to be thrilled by the radiant images, reflections, quotations and historical details, so close to our heart and so creatively arranged together by Jenny... 12th March 2008 (Wed) – Talk by Professor Valentina Polukhina on Joseph Brodsky, with recordings of Brodsky's voice. Valentina
Polukhina used to know Joseph Brodsky very closely, since early 70s tillhis
death in 1996. She has written many books about Brodsky andhis poetry.
Joseph Brodskiy and Valentina Poluhina , Keele University, 1985
8th March, Saturday, from 6pm till late! Venue: St.Paul's Church Centre, Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 1JP Lavish Russian
party, overwhelming and elevating - for all ages and nationalities! Eating,
drinking and socialising will be followed by a vibrant Russian disco that
you'll be able to enjoy to the full extent. Everyone is welcome - please
bring your own PANCAKES (bliny) + other mouthwatering food TO SHARE +
plenty of drinks (both alcoholic and soft) In the programme: - LIVE MUSIC
(violin, piano and accordion, played by professional musicians)
Gordon Cameron Lecture Theatre, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Talk by Dr Marina Frolova-Walker –"öÉ×ÅÅ ×ÓÅÈ ÖÉ×ÙÈ - çÌÉÎËÁ × óóóò" - "More alive than the living: Glinka in the USSR" (with music extracts & rarely shown & very funny video clips) Dr. Marina Frolova-Walker is University Lecturer in the Faculty of Music and Fellow of Clare College at the University of Cambridge. She studied musicology at the Moscow Conservatory, receiving her doctorate in 1994. Dr. Frolova-Walker previously taught at the Moscow Conservatory College, the University of Ulster, Goldsmiths College London, and University of Southampton. Her principal fields of research are German Romanticism, Russian and Soviet music, and nationalism in music. Dr. Frolova-Walker´s writings on Russian music have appeared in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Cambridge Opera Journal, Journal of the American Musicological Society, and elsewhere.
WHEN:
Monday, 3rd December, 7:30pm Michael Copp talked about his experiences at the Joint Services SCHOOL FOR LINGUISTICS in the 1950s, where British soldiers were sent to learn Russian language in depth. It was an incredible establishment, mentioned recently in Stella Rimmington programme "Watching The Russians" - many distinguished people came out of the School for Linguistics, including such well-known writers Michael Frayne, Alan Bennett, Denis Potter and J.M.Thomas. ***
CamRuSS ANNUAL GATHERING *** (1) THE SPIRIT OF ST.PETERSBURG *** A short talk, with slides, in English, by Elena Afonina, who will be visiting from St.Petersburg, and is an expert on the history and art of the city (2) AGM (Otchotno-perevybornoe sobranie) - short and crisp, as always! For details, please see below.There will be elections of the President(s) and the Organising Committee. It would be wonderful if you could volunteer to step in - there is always a need for new people! Please send your kind offers to our Secretary, Barbara Laughlin, at: barbara.laughlin@btinternet.com (3) FOOD, DRINK AND MUSIC There will be an opportunity to socialise, refuel yourself, and even dance afterwards - please bring your own food, meet old friends, and make new ones! |
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Cambridge,
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"DOSTOEVSKII and POBEDONOSTSEV: PARADOXICAL FRIENDSHIP"
WHEN:
Thursday,
14th June, 7pm for 7:30. Alexander Polunov sheded light on both literary and personal relationship between F.M.Dostoevskii, the great Russian writer, and K.P.Pobedonostsev (1827-1907), one of the most famous statesmen of Late Imperial Russia. Though often portrayed as a mere reactionary, Pobedonostsev was a complicated and profound figure. He strove to influence Russian public opinion, and treated Dostoevskii as a valuable ally. Dostoevskii, in his turn, appreciated Pobedostsev as a pious statesman who could revitalise the Orthodox Church and re-establish its role in social and spiritual life of Russia. |
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WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THAT LIBERAL SOVIET POET ANDREI VOZNESENSKY ***
WNEN: Monday, 14th May, 7pm for 7:30pm WHERE: Walter Graves Lecture Theatre, Fitzwilliam College, Storey's Way, Cambridge CB3 0DG
Andrei Voznesensky, born in 1933, was one of the archetypal "men of the 60s". A protegÊ of Pasternak, he was independent-minded rather than an outright dissident, but had regular skirmishes with the authorities, including Khrushchev's notorious attack on him in the Kremlin in 1963. His poetry, often accused of verbal pyrotechnics, is densely metaphorical, contrasting ancient and modern, spiritual and material, natural and technological. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Michael Pushkin has taught Russian language, literature and history at the University of Birmingham since 1968, and was the Head of the Russian Department for many years. He has published articles on the 19th-century Russian intelligentsia and on the modern poet Andrei Voznesensky, whom he has known personally since the early 60s, and interviewed a number of times, in Moscow and in London. |
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Talk by GLENN RICHER in English, with poetry readings in both languages WHERE: Gordon Cameron Lecture Theatre, Fitzwilliam College, Storey's Way, Cambridge CB3 0DG (venue tbc) Anna Akhmatova is a famous poet in both Russia and the English-speaking world. In Britain at least, this fame has emphasised the traumas of her life, her status as femme fatal, and the restrictions placed on her writing activities during the Soviet period. Glenn Richer talked about the reputation of Akhmatova as poet, concentrating on the analysis of examples of her work, and drawing out the main qualities of her writing for an audience less familiar with the original Russian texts. |
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*** BRIDGET KENDALL ***
Mon, 26th March, 7:30pm Pippard Lecture Theatre, Cavendish Laboratory, J.J.Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE Bridget Kendall was the BBC Moscow correspondent in 1989-1994, reporting on the break-up of the Soviet Union. Barry Uscinski: No one could be better qualified to talk about the forming of present day Russia than Bridget Kendal who lived there through Soviet times, collapse, chaos and the painful steps towards the new Russia. Few have had such a chance to speak both to Presidents in the Kremlin and ordinary folk around the kitchen table. Her fascinating talk on Monday was an impressive display of the depth and breadth of this experience. Sadly the picture she painted of Russia today was rather depressing; of institutional corruption, of a fractured society with vast inequalities, and of a population rapidly declining in many regions as a result of disease and despair. Now while all this might be true there is something that could have been added to give balance to the picture. What can eventually rescue Russia is not just a growth in material prosperity but its true "gold reserve" which is still there in the country and the people undiminished. This is the great legacy of Russian culture, music, literature, history, tradition and, dare I add, Eastern Christianity. This "zolotoi zapas" is such a basic part of the thing that is Russia and of the "Russkaya Dusha" It pointed the way gently even in the darkest days of the Soviet Regime. "Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom" and will not fail in the future. This is what makes it worth while being Russian. Now although Bridget Kendal did not talk about this I am sure that she feels it and that is why, at the very end of her talk, she finished on an up beat note saying that in spite of all the present woes she knows in her heart that Russia is not doomed. -------------------------------------- Jane Altschuler: Having gone to the same school as Bridget Kendall and often seen her on the television I was extremely interested to meet her in real life and find out what she really thought about some of the situations she had so successfully canvassed for the BBC. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Whilst being presented with a conception of the political situation in Russian today which clearly took into account all sides to the argument (Bridget spoke both about the criticisms being made of Putin's regime and the defences that can be made of it), I cannot say that I learnt anything which cannot be discovered by listening to the news or reading the papers - a surprising conclusion considering the number of notable officials interviewed by Bridget. The account given seemed very impersonal and lacking in any kind of analysis from the speaker's point of view. Then again, maybe that's just the curse of being a reporter?! *** Seva Novgorodtcev*** 30 years at the BBC Russian service Saturday, 24th February 2007, 6pm, Reddaway Room, Fitzwillam College, Storey's Way, Cambridge A cult figure and an expert on almost everything, including rock music, who started working on BBC at the times when many of us were struggling to catch the words of truth on the radio through the horrible racket, created by special Soviet noise-making machines… Trained as a navigator in the Soviet merchant fleet, Seva Novgorodtsev then became a professional musician playing in various jazz and rock bands touring all over the Soviet Union. He has been a household name to millions of Russians over the past 30 years, forhis two hugely successful weekly radio programmes. Read about Seva: >>> (in Russian) http://www.seva.ru/ (Seva's official website) Old New Year Party Saturday, 13th January 2007, from 5pm, St.Paul's Church Hall, Hills Rd, Cambridge A most popular & uplifting entertainment for children & adults In the programme: the real Ded moroz, Snegurochka, games and competitions, dancing and singing, a raffle with a mystery first prize, and a lively Russian disco!
Rebyata,
privet vsem esche raz! I was thinking the whole night about our party
and my message I sent yesterday and realised that I had missed something
very important. I didn't manage to express ALL my feelings, i.e. feelings
of real admiration, towards some other members of our Committee who put
their skills and their whole souls in making the party such a success.
And you know why? Because some of you might have thought that I have something
personal towards them. (Actually, I do, but not in that sense!) Anyway,
I love Misha (Lyuda, forgive me, but he is the best dancer I've ever had
and I envy you - beloi zavistyu!:) as our DJ, especially. Never mind that
he put the pre-historic "Podmoskovnye Vechera" for our kids to do the
horovod with Ded Moroz! (Have they or their parents ever heard that song?)
But he managed to find a very appropriate Feya Drazzhe's dance for Christmas
magic and, of course, pleased me with the tango! So, Misha, dorogoi, you
are a real gentleman! My only regret is that you were so preoccupied with
the music that it didn't leave you much time to dance with your charming
wife and with myself. Next time you should definitely consider having
an assistant. No music could've been possible without Richard Perry's
equipment, of course! He managed to stay in the shade (very unusual!)
so that we couldn't find him when the time came to play the guitar, which
he does marvellously by the way! Richard, we should probably book your
personal performance at CamRuSS. Please let us know when your programme
is finalised! Dima-Dimochka, thank you for being such 'a gentle man' (he
sacrificed a bottle of precious French wine rescued in the storm across
the Channel!) and my enthusiastic dance partner! I'm sure we can have
an exciting future together, but hope you'll agree with me, it's not enough
for organising the CamRuSS party, is it? We remember you promised to be
our Ded Moroz once. Next year it will be your turn! The last but not the
least, is Serezha. He could be definitely crowned as the Grey Cardinal:
you could hardly see him, only the outcomes of what he was doing. I liked
his response to my suggestion to leave the bin liners for a while and
just enjoy yourself. He said, 'But it would look much better when it's
tidier, wouldn't it?' I wonder whether all gentlemen from Estonia are
like that? Serezha, can I have you in my house from time to time please?
You disappeared so quickly, like Cinderella from the ball, that we couldn't
dance at the disco. Some other time perhaps? I was really missing Mark
and Glenn at the party. Dear gentlemen, where were you this time? Celebrating
the Old New Year in a more pleasant company? I can't believe it! Tell
us you were missing us as well!
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MOSCOW UNDER THREAT *** WHEN: Monday, 20th November, 7:30pm WHERE: Trust Room, Fitzwilliam College, Storey's Way, Cambridge Moscow's current building boom is threatening its fascinating and wonderful architectural heritage - over 1,000 buildings have been demolished over the last 5 years alone, some 300 of them listed. In May 2004, former Times correspondent Clementine Cecil co-founded MAPS (the Moscow Architecture Preservation Society: http:www.maps-moscow.com) to counterbalance the mass demolitions in Moscow that have transformed the city since the fall of Communism. She devotes her time to campaigning and bringing western conservation values to Russia at a critical time for the country's heritage. Moscow's current building boom is threatening its fascinating and wonderful architectural heritage – over 1,000 buildings have been demolished over the last 5 years alone, some 300 of them listed. MAPS is presently campaigning to save the house of the Constructivist architect Konstantin Melnikov. Clementine will illustrate her talk with slides. |
4th
Feb 2008 (Mon)
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SECRET STUDIES: CONFESSIONS OF A COLD-WAR KURSANT (military cadet)***
A
talk by Dr Alexander Polunov, visiting from Moscow State University, Faculty
of History (mainly in Russian) 
Talk
by MICHAEL PUSHKIN, with poetry readings, organised by CamRuSS 
Anna
Akhmatova 
Party
feedback: a Panegeric to our Gentlemen from Marina