SOVIET ANNIVERSARIES.

February 18, 2003 by 1 Comment

On this day in 1964 began the trial of Iosif Brodsky for parasitism (tuneyadstvo); famous exchanges with the judge include:

“Why haven’t you been working?”
“I have been working. I’ve written poetry.”
“That doesn’t interest us.”

and

“Who included you among the ranks of the poets?”
“Who included me among the ranks of the human race?”

Five years later, on this day in 1969, was the premiere of Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev at the Dom Kino in Moscow, one of the great moments of world cinema.

Comments

  1. Tom T. says
    February 20, 2003 at 1:41 pm

    Not to be an apologist for the Soviet inquisitors, but I have to admit, having heard those answers, it’s hard not to want to smack him.

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