On Vladimir Vysotsky.
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May God give you faith in God — Vladimir Vysotsky. |
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was born and lived in Rossia in the period of the communist experiment, and his poetic word was a light of men in this long-suffering country. Only a few of his songs were recognized officially when he was alive, but due to home-made tape recordings and publications everything sung and recited by him was known to one and all. In the darkness of building the society of total happiness, Vladimir Vysotsky showed life as it really was, and his a bit hoarse sincere voice captivated the people’s hearts, and gave the deceived nation the strength to live, work and fight. There was no such poet before him — his poems and songs reflected the dreams and hopes, pain and grief of all living people, and his voice touched anyone who heard it. He was loved by millions of people of various nationalities, and now, as in bygone days, his poetry helps us to live.
Vladimir Vysotsky left a great poetic heritage — more than seven hundred poems and songs, which show life in all its completeness, and embrace all the history of our world — from the day of its creation until the very end.
Many of his poems and songs have much in common with Gabdulla Tukay’s poems, and many continue Alexander Pushkin and Rudyard Kipling’s prophecies. Of course, the prophecies of Vladimir Vysotsky require interpretation, and not all of them can be interpreted before they are fulfilled, and the presented interpretations exclude not additional interpretations; and there are such poems and songs of him that were written about the past, but they also relate to the future.
I think the poetry of Vladimir Vysotsky to be a single whole with the teaching of Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, through whom the best religion was again offered to mankind. In the country the communists wanted to turn away from the Face of Allah, glorious and exalted is He, these knights of Truth told people that there is a path to unearthly marvels, and that soon will come a man, who will show this path. This was promised by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, saying, “Allah will bring out from concealment al-Mahdi from my family and just before the day of Judgment; even if only one day were to remain in the life of the world, and he will spread on this earth justice and equity and will eradicate tyranny and oppression.” (Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, volume 1, page 99.)
I trust that what was written by Vladimir Vysotsky will be translated into all the languages, and the world will take possession of the gotten heritage. This publication presents selected poems and songs of this eminent poet, some songs of other authors performed by him and a selection of poems and songs about him, and also, in the commentaries, a number of poems and songs consonant with his poetry (several poems and songs of Vladimir Vysotsky are also given in the commentaries) in the Russian and English languages.
Most of the poems and songs in Russian, both Vladimir Vysotsky and other authors’, and of the translations into Russian are altered, because the Russian language, due to the orthographic reforms made by Peter I and the Soviet Government, has started to deteriorate, and mistakes are creeping now in almost all texts — I give them in the form they would have, in my opinion, if there were no unfounded alterations (speaking in Alexander Pushkin’s words) of the heraldry of the Russian script. A good many of translations of Vladimir Vysotsky’s songs into English are the result of joint efforts, what means that they were made by other translators and combined or adapted by me.
Saint Petersburg, Rossia.
2024.