The image above is an oil painting of Leningrad, Russia.
"ЛЕНИНГРАД" (Leningrad) was written by Osip Mandelstam, in 1930. Below is the original Russian text, an English translation, and a song adaptation by the famous singer, Alla Pugacheva (Алла Пугачева).
Я вернулся в мой город, знакомый до слез, До прожилок, до детских припухлых желез.
Ты вернулся сюда, так глотай же скорей Рыбий жир ленинградских речных фонарей,
Узнавай же скорее декабрьский денек, Где к зловещему дегтю подмешан желток.
Петербург! я еще не хочу умирать! У тебя телефонов моих номера.
Петербург! У меня еще есть адреса, По которым найду мертвецов голоса.
Я на лестнице черной живу, и в висок Ударяет мне вырванный с мясом звонок,
И всю ночь напролет жду гостей дорогих, Шевеля кандалами цепочек дверных.
I’ve come back to my city. These are my own old tears, my own little veins, the swollen glands of childhood.
So you’re back. Open wide. Swallow the fish-oil from the river lamps of Leningrad.
Open your eyes. Do you know this December day, the egg-yolk with the deadly tar beaten into it?
Petersburg! I don’t want to die yet! You know my telephone numbers.
Petersburg! I’ve still got the addresses: I can look up dead voices.
I live on back stairs, and the bell, torn out nerves and all, jangles in my temples.
And I wait till morning for guests that I love, and rattle the door in its chains.
Osip Mandelstam was a Jewish poet born in Warsaw, Poland in 1891. Soon after his birth, his family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. He later became one of the most prominent poets from the Silver Age of Russian Poetry due to his use of metaphors and rich imagery. He was close friends with other Silver Age poets, such as Anna Akhmatova and Boris Pasternak. In December of 1930, Osip Mandelstam wrote "Leningrad" (ЛЕНИНГРАД). This was towards the end of his life. Originally, Mandelstam had supported the Bolsheviks, but this support did not last long. When the Bolsheviks came into power, they began forcing artists to create propaganda. Mandelstam resisted Bolshevik pressure to create propaganda and quickly became an opponent to the Russian government. Mandelstam was largely against the oppressive government, and what they had done to Russia. Leading into 1930, Mandelstam had lost confidence and motivation and had taken a hiatus from writing poetry.
In 1930, Mandelstam visited Armenia and experienced a lively culture, which was the antithesis of the oppressive environment of the Soviet Union. Later that year, Mandelstam returned to Leningrad, Russia, and with a newfound motivation to begin writing poetry again. His new poetry, including "Leningrad," was viewed as an attack against the communist establishment and was therefore prohibited from getting published. Similarly, singer Alla Pugacheva encountered several obstacles when she tried to release a song entitled, "ЛЕНИНГРАД" (Leningrad), which was based on this poem. She had to change the words of the poem and create new lyrics for her song to avoid political backlash.
"Leningrad" (ЛЕНИНГРАД) is a critique of the communist Soviet Union. In the poem, Mandelstam openly expresses his dislike for the state of his home, more specifically Leningrad. Mandelstam recognizes what has been lost in his Leningrad as he explores the city’s past. He remembers the addresses and telephone numbers of friends who have been arrested or executed. He also explains his living conditions; he is anxious, stressed, and impoverished. Mandelstam concludes the poem by stating he is waiting "till morning for guests that I love, and rattle the door in its chains." In this quote, he is alluding to the Soviet secret police, the "guests," to come get him and imprison him, "rattle the door in its chains." Cheeky sarcasm is used to describe his “guests” for which he has “love”. In reality, he despises the Russian government.
Throughout the poem, Mandelstam is visibly going through an existential crisis. He wonders if his life has any meaning or purpose as secret police will soon capture him. Surprisingly, today people are experiencing existential crises more than ever. With the advancement of technology, the subsequent freeing up of time, and the loss of the feeling of a community, people are questioning if their lives truly matter. People have grown more distant from one another, and more insecure as a result of social media. This results in people feeling more isolated, just as Mandelstam felt isolated in Leningrad remembering the “dead voices” he used to know. People are struggling with the knowledge of their own mortality as they try to find the meaning of life, but are falling deeper and deeper into desperate mental conditions as a result. As the COVID pandemic swept the entire globe, people began to further question the meaning of life as friends and celebrities passed away from the virus. But as we look to the past for answers, we must recognize, just as Mandelstam did, that life will go on.
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