Something about which Progressives and Conservatives can agree.
ConversazioniPro and Con
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1Doug1943
Or should be able to agree about. I'm talking about the situation in Russia. I think we all 1 would want to support the small-d democrats there and if we could help some of them open up a bit of space for open political discussion, we would.
Well, here's our chance.
The son of a Russian friend of mine, a very talented musician, has written a rock opera-- he wrote it ten years ago, in fact -- about a real figure from Russian history, named Fanny Kaplan. (If you don't know who she was, read about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Kaplan It would also help if you knew what "Aesopian Language" refers to. If you're not sure, read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesopian_language )
Ten years ago Russian theatres were afraid to stage it ... and are even more so now. With one exception: It was recently accepted and performed -- just a quarter-hour fragment -- at a local theatre festival in a Russian city. Fanny Kaplan was a Ukrainian, and half the dialogue is in Ukrainian, the other half, Russian. The significance of this is an open question, but it's a good sign.
It's now up on YouTube, with English sub-titles and an English-language explanation of the background.
It would be wonderful if thousands of people all over the world viewed it over the next few weeks. It would hearten the brave people who put it on, and would show a few of the Russian people that they are not all viewed as raving nationalists seeking to restore the Tzarist Empire.
So get going! Here's the link:
--------------- https://youtube.com/watch?v=d1hj22bTrP8
If you liked it, leave a 'thumbs up' ... and perhaps even comment. Warning: please don't be 'political' in your comment, like saying something nasty about Mr Putin. Everything public related to this musical production is almost certainly being monitored by some people we don't want to stir into activity. They tolerate some dissent, but have their limits.
If you comment, just say something anodyne, as you'll see I have. And it would be wonderful if you passed this link along to your friends and urged them to view it.
I, and Andrei, the author, thank you in advance.
PS: if anyone here is interested in collaborating with me to promote this video, and perhaps to do other things to support democracy in Russia, PM me and we can discuss it.
Footnotes:
1 I say that both Progressives and Conservatives should be able to agree on this issue, but I know there are a few people on the Left still nostalgic for the USSR and who have transferred their loyalties to present-day Russia -- after all, it's anti-Western. And there are some people on the Right who see Mr Putin as championing traditional conservative cultural values. A perverse United Front.
Well, here's our chance.
The son of a Russian friend of mine, a very talented musician, has written a rock opera-- he wrote it ten years ago, in fact -- about a real figure from Russian history, named Fanny Kaplan. (If you don't know who she was, read about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Kaplan It would also help if you knew what "Aesopian Language" refers to. If you're not sure, read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesopian_language )
Ten years ago Russian theatres were afraid to stage it ... and are even more so now. With one exception: It was recently accepted and performed -- just a quarter-hour fragment -- at a local theatre festival in a Russian city. Fanny Kaplan was a Ukrainian, and half the dialogue is in Ukrainian, the other half, Russian. The significance of this is an open question, but it's a good sign.
It's now up on YouTube, with English sub-titles and an English-language explanation of the background.
It would be wonderful if thousands of people all over the world viewed it over the next few weeks. It would hearten the brave people who put it on, and would show a few of the Russian people that they are not all viewed as raving nationalists seeking to restore the Tzarist Empire.
So get going! Here's the link:
--------------- https://youtube.com/watch?v=d1hj22bTrP8
If you liked it, leave a 'thumbs up' ... and perhaps even comment. Warning: please don't be 'political' in your comment, like saying something nasty about Mr Putin. Everything public related to this musical production is almost certainly being monitored by some people we don't want to stir into activity. They tolerate some dissent, but have their limits.
If you comment, just say something anodyne, as you'll see I have. And it would be wonderful if you passed this link along to your friends and urged them to view it.
I, and Andrei, the author, thank you in advance.
PS: if anyone here is interested in collaborating with me to promote this video, and perhaps to do other things to support democracy in Russia, PM me and we can discuss it.
Footnotes:
1 I say that both Progressives and Conservatives should be able to agree on this issue, but I know there are a few people on the Left still nostalgic for the USSR and who have transferred their loyalties to present-day Russia -- after all, it's anti-Western. And there are some people on the Right who see Mr Putin as championing traditional conservative cultural values. A perverse United Front.
2aspirit
Oh, well done. I don't speak Ukrainian or Russian to evaluate the dialogue, but even with the limitation, that was worth a watch. The cast and crew performed wonderfully.
4Doug1943
It's sort of a Russian "Hamilton".
There are people in the West who think the way to do things is to isolate Russia completely, including isolating its people, and the 'intelligentsia' there.
Wrong. We need to do just the opposite and maximize cultural contacts. This is one way to do it, albeit on a microscale ... but then, almost everything we as individuals do is on a microscale. But if there are enough of us, it adds up.
By the way, in case anyone reading this is a producer of musicals, or knows someone who is, it would be interesting to see if this could be put on -- in translation -- in the West.
Also, if you know anyone who teaches Russian, or teaches Russian culture, it would be nice for their students to see it.
There are people in the West who think the way to do things is to isolate Russia completely, including isolating its people, and the 'intelligentsia' there.
Wrong. We need to do just the opposite and maximize cultural contacts. This is one way to do it, albeit on a microscale ... but then, almost everything we as individuals do is on a microscale. But if there are enough of us, it adds up.
By the way, in case anyone reading this is a producer of musicals, or knows someone who is, it would be interesting to see if this could be put on -- in translation -- in the West.
Also, if you know anyone who teaches Russian, or teaches Russian culture, it would be nice for their students to see it.
