The Suitcase

Notes

p. 3, But even like this… precious to me: From a 1914 poem ‘Greshit’ besstydno, neprobudno’ (‘To sin shamelessly, ceaselessly’) by Alexander Alexandrovich Blok (1880 – 1921), a leading figure of the Symbolist movement.

p. 5, OVIR: The Russian Office of Visas and Registrations, which issued legal documents for those wishing either to enter or leave the Soviet Union.

p. 6, Rocky Marciano, Louis Armstrong, Joseph Brodsky, Gina Lollobrigida: Rocky Marciano (1923 – 69), Italian-American undefeated champion heavyweight boxer; Louis Armstrong (1901 – 71), famous American jazz musician; Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky (1940 – 96), Russian Nobel Prize-winning poet and close friend of Dovlatov; Gina Lollobrigida (b.1927), Italian actress mostly active in the 1950s and 60s.

p. 17, Karjalainen, perhaps: An unclear reference since Karjalainen is a common Finnish surname. One possibility is the children’s author Elina Karjalainen (1927 – 2006), who wrote a series of books about a teddy bear called Uppo-Nalle.

p. 18, Maybe Mantere: Again, the reference is unclear, but it may allude to the singer Eeki Mantere (1949 – 2007), a popular Finnish musician of the 1970s.

p. 23, the historian Nikolai Karamzin: Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766 – 1826), prominent conservative Russian historian and writer.

p. 23, Paul Robeson: Paul Robeson (1898 – 1976) was an African-American civil-rights activist, singer and actor who received the International Stalin Prize in 1952. His political leanings and outspokenness caused him tremendous problems in America.

p. 24, the famous artist Shemyakin: Mikhail Mikhailovich Shemyakin (b.1943), a painter who studied at the Repin Academy in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) and, after frequent clashes with the KGB, left the Soviet Union in 1971.

p. 24, Yuri Gagarin, Mayakovsky, Fidel Castro: Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin (1934 – 68), Soviet cosmonaut and the first man in space, who received the most prestigious award in the USSR, “Hero of the Soviet Union”; Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (1893 – 1930), Russian Futurist poet and Soviet propagandist, often seen as the exemplar of Soviet art; Fidel Castro (b.1926), leader of the Cuban revolution and subsequently First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba.

p. 28, Lomonosov: Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (1711 – 65), pioneering Russian grammarian, poet, scientist and founder of Moscow State University.

p. 37, Pushkin Hills: An area in the Pskov Oblast named after Russia’s most celebrated poet, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799 – 1837), who spent a period of exile and wrote some of his best-known works in the region.

p. 37, Léger: Fernand Léger (1881 – 1955), French painter and sculptor, who joined the Communist Party in 1945.

p. 39, Komsomol: The Communist Party’s youth wing.

p. 40, pelmeni: Meat dumplings, a traditional Russian dish.

p. 42, Mikhail Rodzyanko… Trotsky, Lazar Kaganovich and Andrei Andreyev: Rodzyanko (1859 – 1924) was a key politician in pre-Communist Russia. Trotsky (1879 – 1940) was second to Lenin in the early days of the Revolution; Kaganovich (1893 – 1991) and Andreyev (1895 – 1971) were fervent supporters of Stalin.

p. 43, Heroine Mother: A title and the name of a medal awarded to mothers of ten or more children.

p. 45, people’s assessors: In the Soviet legal system, a people’s assessor had a role similar to that of a magistrate. Particularly in Soviet films, people’s assessors would have towed the party line in their verdicts.

p. 50, Misha Baryshnikov: Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov (b.1948), widely regarded as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the twentieth century. He defected from the Soviet Union in 1974 whilst touring in Canada.

p. 69, Peter Brook, Fellini and De Sica: All luminaries of the film or theatre worlds: Peter Brook (b.1925), English theatre and film director; Federico Fellini (1920 – 93), Italian film director; Vittorio De Sica (1901 – 74), Italian film director and actor.

p. 69, Shostakovich, Mravinsky, Eisenstein: Again, all extremely influential Soviet cultural figures: Dmitry Dmitryevich Shostakovich (1906 – 75), Russian composer; Yevgeny Alexandrovich Mravinsky (1903 – 88), Soviet conductor; Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (1898 – 1948), ground-breaking Soviet film director.

p. 76, Nikolai Gumilyov: Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov (1886 – 1921), Russian Acmeist poet.

p. 76, Yesenin, Zoshchenko and Vysotsky: Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin (1895 – 1925), one of Russia’s best-known lyrical poets, committed suicide at thirty. Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko (1895 – 1958) was one of the foremost figures of Soviet satire, and was persecuted by the authorities towards the end of his life. Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky (1938 – 80), known as a bard in Russia, was one of the most popular and respected singer-songwriters of his country.

p. 77, Raykin: Arkady Isaakovich Raykin (1911 – 87), well-known Soviet humorist.

p. 77, Sartre, Yves Montand: Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 – 1980), French existentialist philosopher; Yves Montand (1921 – 91), Italian-born French actor and singer.

p. 78, Proust, Galsworthy, Feuchtwanger… she loved Pasternak and Tsvetayeva: The first three are all “foreign” authors: Marcel Proust (1871 – 1922), French author of In Search of Lost Time; John Galsworthy (1867 – 1933), English novelist and author of The Forsyte Saga; Lion Feuchtwanger (1884 – 1958), German-Jewish novelist and playwright. Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 – 1960) and Marina Ivanovna Tsvetayeva (1892 – 1941) were both celebrated Russian writers.

p. 85, Solzhenitsyn’s portrait: Alexander Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (1918 – 2008), Russian writer and notable dissident.

p. 85, Tolya Gladilin… Vasya Shukshin… Bellochka: Here Dovlatov uses the diminutive versions of the writers’ first names to emphasize his connection with them. All were prominent writers born in the late 1920s or 1930s.

p. 85, Tarkovsky’s movies: Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (1932 – 86), acclaimed Russian film director whose work was highly lyrical and often spiritual. Ivan’s Childhood was Tarkovsky’s first feature film and won him widespread acclaim.

p. 86, friendly greetings from Goryshin, a drunken bear hug from Wolf, a quick chat with Yefimov or Konetsky… Even Daniil Granin knew my face: Gleb Alexandrovich Goryshin (1931 – 98), editor for the literary journal Aurora; Sergei Evgenyevich Wolf (1935 – 2005), a poet and prose writer from St Petersburg; Igor Markovich Yefimov (b.1937), novelist and author of a number of samizdat publications; Viktor Viktorovich Konetsky (1929 – 2002), writer and screenwriter; Daniil Alexandrovich Granin (b.1919), award-winning novelist and documentary writer.

p. 86, Kornei Chukovsky, Nikolai Oleynikov… Daniil Kharms, and so on: Chukovsky (1882 – 1969) was an influential children’s poet, critic and translator. Oleynikov (1898 – 1937) and Kharms (1905 – 42) both belonged to the absurdist OBERIU group in the 1920s, which was later seen to conflict with Soviet aesthetics. The former was shot at the height of Stalin’s purges; the latter died in a psychiatric ward in Leningrad after being arrested for treason.

p. 86, Yevgeny Yevtushenko: (b.1933) Hugely popular Russian poet and critic of Stalinism.

p. 90, Virgin Soil Upturned: A reference to a Soviet classic by Mikhail Sholokhov (1905 – 84), commonly thought of as rather dreary, and required reading in schools.

p. 93, a picture of the actor Yakovlev: Yury Vasilyevich Yakovlev (b.1928), a well-known film and theatre actor.

p. 95, Ceauşescu: Nicolae Ceauşescu (1918 – 89), General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party.

p. 107, Gostiny Dvor: The largest and most famous department store in St Petersburg.

p. 114, And soon the foe… field of blood: From Pushkin’s ‘Poltava’, English translation by John Coutts.

p. 117, Chuk and Gek: a children’s story written by Arkady Petrovich Gaidar (1904 – 41), about two young brothers who leave Moscow to visit their father, who is on a remote expedition.

p. 119, Chursina… Tenyakova: Lyudmila Alexeyevna Chursina (b.1941) and Natalya Maximovna Tenyakova (b.1944) both famous, award-winning Russian actresses.