Person Biography:
Yevgeni Yevtushenko is a renowned Russian poet, writer, actor, and film director. Born Yevgeni Aleksandrovich Gangnus on July 18, 1933, in Zima, Irkutsk region, Siberia, Russia, he is best known for his powerful poem 'Babi Yar' and the eponymous symphony composed by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Growing up, Yevtushenko was fascinated by poetry and music. He wrote his first verses and humorous songs "chastushki" while living in Zima, Siberia. After the Second World War, he moved to Moscow and studied at the Gorky Institute of Literature, where he dropped out in 1954.
Yevtushenko's early poem 'So mnoyu chto-to proiskhodit' (Someting is happening to me) became a very popular song, performed by actor-songwriter Aleksandr Dolsky. In 1955, he wrote a poem about the Soviet borders being an obstacle in his life, which led to him being banned from traveling. However, his popularity grew with the Russian public, and his first important publication was the poem 'Stantsiya Zima' (Zima Junction) in 1956.
Yevtushenko's success continued to grow after Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 speech denouncing Joseph Stalin, which led to a cultural "Thaw" that allowed for more freedom of expression. His powerful poem "Nasledniki Stalina" (The Heirs of Stalin) claimed that the atmosphere of Stalinism was still dominating the country. Although initially censored, the poem became a symbol of the Soviet Union's struggle for freedom and human rights.
Throughout his career, Yevtushenko has been a vocal advocate for human rights, democracy, and freedom of expression. He has co-signed letters of protest against the unfair trial of Joseph Brodsky and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. In 1989, he was elected as a representative in the Soviet Parliament, where he was a member of the pro-democratic group supporting Mikhail Gorbachev.
Yevtushenko is also known for his collaborations with other famous artists, including composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Their famous Symphony No. 13, titled "Babi Yar," is a vocal setting of poems by Yevtushenko and was first performed in Moscow on December 18, 1962. The site of Babi Yar is now an important WWII memorial, built with the support of many contributors, including Yevtushenko and Shostakovich.
In addition to his literary and musical endeavors, Yevtushenko has also had a successful acting career, appearing in several Soviet films and contributing to the script of Soy Cuba (1964),a Soviet propaganda film. He has also written and directed two films, 'Detsky Sad' (Kindergarten, 1983) and 'Pokhorony Stalina' (Stalin's Funeral, 1990),which deal with life in the Soviet Union.
Today, Yevtushenko is a professor of Russian literature at the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa and continues to tour Russia annually with public performances of his poetry. He lives and works in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has a home in Moscow, Russia.
