early years
Evgeny Yevtushenko was born on July 18, 1932 in Siberia. According to the passport, the year of birth is 1933. Yevtushenko’s blood flows both Baltic and German through the father of the geologist, amateur poet Alexander Rudolfovich Gangnus. Mother Zinaida Ermolaevna Yevtushenko is a poet, geologist, Honored Cultural Worker of the RSFSR. After the birth of Evgeniy, Zinaida Ermolaevna specifically replaced her husband’s surname with her maiden name. I also changed my son’s year of birth, since at the age of 12 he had to get a pass. 
Since childhood, Yevtushenko was attached to books. Parents helped us understand the world through books and regular communication. Yevtushenko recalls: “My father could spend hours telling me, still a foolish child, about the fall of Babylon, and about the Spanish Inquisition, and about the War of the Scarlet and White Roses, and about William of Orange... Thanks to my father, I already learned to read and write at the age of 6, I read indiscriminately Dumas, Flaubert, Boccaccio, Cervantes and Wells. There was an unimaginable vinaigrette in my head. I lived in an illusory world, I didn’t notice anyone or anything around...”
Later, the father leaves his mother and Evgeniy and goes to another woman. With her he forms his family. Despite this, Alexander Rudolfovich continues to raise his son. He took Evgeniy to a poetry evening at Moscow State University. We went to the evenings of Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Mikhail Svetlov, Alexander Tvardovsky, Pavel Antokolsky. The mother allowed the father to see his son. She understood that their communication was only for Eugene’s benefit. Zinaida Ermolaevna often sent letters to Alexander Rudolfovich, which contained poems written by her son.
She kept all of Eugene's manuscripts. There was even a notebook containing nine thousand rhymes. But it was not possible to save it. His mother also instilled in Evgeniy a love of art. Zinaida Ermolaevna was a soloist at the Stanislavsky Theater. She also had a musical education. Her frequent guests were artists who in the future became famous on the pop stage. Zinaida Ermolaevna constantly toured the country. During the war years, she even suffered from typhus while on tour.
Evgeny Yevtushenko on video
Naturally, with such parents, Evgeniy developed mentally rapidly. He grew up as an erudite, literate child. Many peers envied him. Zinaida Ermolaevna was only glad that their house was visited by such wonderful poets as: Vladimir Sokolov, Evgeny Vinokurov, Grigory Pozhenyan, Bella Akhmadulina, Mikhail Roshchin and many others. Yevtushenko lived, studied, and worked in Moscow. He was a regular guest at the House of Pioneers. He studied at the Gorky Literary Institute and was soon expelled for “incorrect” statements.
Yevtushenko's creativity
The first book written by Yevgeny Yevtushenko was “Scouts of the Future.” It contains slogan, pathos poetry of the 50s. In the year the book was published, Yevtushenko also released his poems: “The Wagon” and “Before the Meeting.” This marked the beginning of his future serious creative work. In 1952, Yevtushenko became a member of the USSR Writers' Union, and he was the youngest in this community.Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s future fame comes from the collections of poems that he writes further: “The Third Snow”, “Highway of Enthusiasts”, “Promise”, “Poems of Different Years”, “Apple”.
Yevtushenko takes part in poetry evenings that took place at the Polytechnic Museum. His partners were those known to us and dearly loved: Robert Rozhdestvensky, Bella Akhmadulina, Bulat Okudzhava.
Yevtushenko understood that, thanks to his works, he was becoming a poet of the next generation. They were then called “sixties”. He dedicates the poem “To the Best of the Generation” to the new generation.
Evgeny Yevtushenko about patriotism
Yevtushenko begins to perform his poems from the stage, conveying the depth of his thoughts to the viewer. For the first time he performs on the big stage in Kharkov in the central lecture hall. Evgeniy was then invited by a fan of his work, and the organizer of this event, Livshits L.Ya. The public was captivated by his work. Each work of Yevtushenko is filled with its own life, they are diverse in their own way. Either he writes about intimate lyrics, which can be seen in the poem “There used to be a dog sleeping at your feet”, then he proclaims an ode to beer in the work “Northern Surcharge”, then he touches on a political theme in the poems: “Under the Skin of the Statue of Liberty”, “Bullfight”, “Italian cycle”, “Dove in Santiago”, “Mom and the neutron bomb”, “Distant relative”, “Full growth” and others.
Many critics did not understand and did not accept the poet's works. He was always at the head of some scandals and provocations. The scandalous poems included: “Stalin’s Heirs”, “Pravda”, “Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station”, “Ballad of Poaching”, “Wave of the Hand”, “Morning People”, “Father’s Hearing” and more.
His works have also been noted in journalism: “Notes to an autobiography”, “Talent is a miracle that is not accidental”, “Tomorrow’s wind”, “Politics is the privilege of everyone”.
Evgeniy writes easily, rhyme follows rhyme by itself, he plays with words and sounds.
Yevtushenko continues his creative path, reading his poems from the stage. Full houses of listeners come to his evenings. He is a huge success. Evgeniy publishes books and CDs where he performs his works. Among them: “Berry Places”, “Pigeon in Santiago” and many others.
The memoirs of Yevgeny Yevtushenko are well known: “Wolf Passport”, “Sixties: Memoir Prose”, “I Came to You: Babi Yar”.
He is also known as an excellent director-producer and author-screenwriter. Thus, Yevtushenko is the director and screenwriter of the military drama “Kindergarten” and the melodrama “Stalin’s Funeral”
There are also Yevtushenko’s works with musical groups: the rock opera “White Snows Are Coming...”, his poems are present in “The Execution of Stepan Razin”.
Yevtushenko’s poems were set to music, resulting in beautiful songs: “And it’s snowing,” “Motherland,” “This is what’s happening to me,” “When the bells ring,” “Under the creaking, weeping willow,” but this is just a small part.
Yevtushenko was appointed secretary of the Writers' Union. Later he becomes secretary of the Commonwealth of Writers' Unions. He is also the chairman of the April writers' association. Became a member of the Memorial Society.
Elections to People's Deputies of the USSR were held in Kharkov. So, Yevtushenko won, beating other candidates, leaving a huge, unattainable margin. He worked there until the collapse of the USSR.
In 1991, Yevtushenko signed a contract to teach at a university in the USA. Actually, Evgeniy takes his family and leaves for permanent residence in America, where he lived until his death.
Personal life of Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Yevgeny Yevtushenko was officially married four times. His first wife is the famous poetess Bella Akhmadulina, with whom he had a creative union in his youth. Evgeny Yevtushenko and Maria Novikova, 1986Awards
“Badge of Honour”, “Order of the Red Banner of Labor”, “Order of Friendship of Peoples”, medal “Defender of Free Russia”, honorary member of the “Russian Academy of Arts” is just a small list of the poet’s awards. Yevtushenko was even a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature for his poem “Babi Yar.” In 1978, a minor planet of the solar system was discovered at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, which was named after the famous poet.Death of Yevgeny Yevtushenko
On April 1, 2017, reports appeared in the press about the hospitalization of 84-year-old Yevgeny Yevtushenko in serious condition, but fully conscious. That same day, he died in his sleep from cardiac arrest, calmly and painlessly, surrounded by loved ones. Later, his son Evgeniy explained that his father suffered from kidney cancer, which returned after six years of remission.According to Yevtushenko’s will, he will be buried in the writer’s village of Peredelkino, next to Boris Pasternak.
Evgeny Yevtushenko (see photo below) is a Russian poet. He also gained fame as a screenwriter, publicist, prose writer, director and actor. The poet's surname at birth is Gangnus.
Evgeny Yevtushenko: biography
The poet was born in the city of Zima, Irkutsk region, on July 18, 1932. His father, a Baltic German by birth, Gangnus Alexander Rudolfovich, was an amateur poet. Mother, Yevtushenko Zinaida Ermolaevna, was a geologist, actress, and honored cultural figure. After returning to Moscow from evacuation in 1944, she gave her son her maiden name.
Yevgeny Yevtushenko began publishing in 1949, his very first poem was published in Soviet Sport. In 1952-1957 He studied in the name of Maxim Gorky, but was expelled for supporting the novel “Not by Bread Alone” by Dudintsev and “disciplinary sanctions.”
In 1952, Yevtushenko’s first book of poems, entitled “Scouts of the Future,” was published. The author later called her immature and juvenile. In the same 1952, Evgeniy, bypassing the candidate stage, became the youngest member of the Writers' Union.
In the period of the 1950-1980s, characterized by a real poetic boom, Yevgeny Yevtushenko entered the arena of colossal popularity together with B. Akhmadulina, B. Okudzhava, A. Voznesensky, R. Rozhdestvensky. They infected the whole country with their enthusiasm; independence, freshness, and informality were felt in their work. The performances of these authors attracted large stadiums, and soon the poetry of the “Thaw” period began to be called pop poetry.
Essay on creativity
The poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko is the most “loud” lyricist of the galaxy of poets of that time. He published many collections of poems that gained popularity. These are “Highway of Enthusiasts”, and “Tenderness”, and “The Third Snow”, and “Apple”, and “Promise”, and others.
His works are distinguished by a variety of genres and a wide range of moods. The first line of the introduction to the 1965 poem “Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station”, “A poet in Russia is more than a poet,” became a catchphrase that has steadily entered into everyday use, and a manifesto of Yevtushenko’s own creativity.
He is also no stranger to subtle, intimate lyrics (for example, the 1955 poem “There used to be a dog sleeping at my feet”). In his 1977 poem “Northern Surcharge,” Yevtushenko composes an ode to beer. Several cycles of poems and poems are devoted to anti-war and foreign themes: “Bullfight”, “Mom and the Neutron Bomb”, “Under the Skin of the Statue of Liberty”, etc.
The poet's stage performances have become famous: he successfully recites his own works. Evgeny Yevtushenko, whose biography is very rich, has released several audio books and CDs (“Berry Places” and others).
1980-1990s
In 1986-1991 Yevtushenko was a secretary on the board of the Writers' Union, and in December 1991 he was appointed secretary on the board of the Commonwealth of Writers' Unions. Since 1988 - member of the Memorial society, since 1989 - co-chairman of the April writers' association.
In May 1989, he was elected as a people's deputy from the Dzerzhinsky IO of Kharkov and worked in this position until the collapse of the Union.
In 1991, Evgeny Yevtushenko signed a contract with a university in the American city of Tulsa (Oklahoma) and went there to teach. The poet currently lives in the USA.
Health status
In 2013, Evgeniy Alexandrovich’s leg was amputated. In December 2014, the poet became ill while he was on tour in Rostov-on-Don, and due to a sharp deterioration in his health, he was hospitalized.
On August 24, 2015, the poet had a pacemaker installed to eliminate problems with his heart rhythm.
Criticism
Yevtushenko's manner and literary style provided a wide field for criticism. He was often reproached for pathetic rhetoric, glorification, and hidden self-praise.
Joseph Brodsky, in an interview in 1972, spoke very negatively about Yevtushenko as a person and poet. He described Eugene as “a huge factory for reproducing himself.”
Personal life
Officially, Yevtushenko was married four times. She became his first wife (since 1954). They often fought, but quickly made up because they loved each other selflessly. When Bella became pregnant, Eugene asked her to have an abortion because he was not ready to be a father. On this basis, the stars of Soviet literature divorced. Then, in 1961, Galina Sokol-Lukonina became Yevtushenko’s wife. The woman could not have children, and in 1968 the couple adopted a boy named Peter. Since 1978, the poet’s wife was his passionate Irish fan, Jen Butler. In marriage with her, sons Anton and Alexander were born. Currently, Yevtushenko’s wife is Maria Novikova, born in 1962. They met in 1987, when Maria, who at that time had just graduated from medical school, approached the poet to ask for an autograph for her mother. Five months later they got married. The couple has two sons: Dmitry and Evgeniy. Thus, the poet has five sons in total.
Yevtushenko himself says that he was lucky with all his wives, and only he is to blame for divorces. The 83-year-old poet has a lot to remember, because he broke many women’s hearts!
Quite recently, one of the most remarkable poets of our time, whose poems were read by millions, passed away. Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s wife Maria Novikova was with him until the last minutes, as she has been all the time recently, when her husband began to be seriously ill.
Maria, the poet’s fourth wife, amazed all his loved ones with the dedication with which she cared for her sick husband. She spent a lot of time in American hospitals, trying not to leave her husband alone for a long time.
The marriage with Maria Novikova turned out to be the strongest and longest - Yevtushenko lived with her for thirty years, and they met when Maria was twenty-three years old and he was fifty-three, and on his part it was love at first sight.
By that time, he had already experienced three divorces and was completely free. Yevgeny Yevtushenko's first wife was the poetess Bella Akhmadulina, with whom the affair began when she had just turned eighteen. Their family life could not be called calm - quarrels between the spouses arose often, but they very quickly made up and dedicated poems to each other.
In the photo - Evgeny Yevtushenko and Bella Akhmadulina
Many years later, Yevtushenko recalled with bitterness that he forced his wife to have an abortion when she told him that she was expecting a child - it seemed to him that they were still young and they needed to live for themselves. Evgeniy thought that after the birth of a child, everyday problems would fall on them, which would prevent him from enjoying freedom and creating. Gradually they began to move away from each other, but Yevtushenko did nothing to save the marriage - even when Bella asked him to take him on a creative trip to Siberia in order to somehow improve the relationship, he again wanted not to burden himself and preferred freedom. The poet then grieved for a long time over his lost love and felt guilty that he did not allow his first wife to give birth to a child.
The second wife of Yevgeny Yevtushenko was Galina Sokol-Lukonina. They had known each other for a long time - before Yevtushenko, Galina was married to his friend, the writer Mikhail Lukonin, and the romance between them broke out after Galina separated from her husband, and Yevtushenko separated from Bella. They lived in marriage for seventeen years, but could not give birth to a child, and then they decided to take the baby from the orphanage, and so Petya appeared in their family. Galina worked a lot with her adopted son, who grew up as an athletic child - he swam, ski jumped, and when he grew up, he became an artist. The marriage with Galina broke up due to Evgeniy’s numerous affairs, which his wife was tired of forgiving him. The divorce was accompanied by a long division of numerous paintings given to them by friends, but Yevtushenko and Lukonina, who did not remarry after the divorce, were nevertheless able to maintain friendly relations.
In the photo - the poet with his third wife Jen Butler
The poet's third wife was Irishwoman Jen Butler, his longtime and passionate fan. They lived together for about eight years, Jen gave birth to the poet two sons - Alexander and Anton.
Yevgeny Yevtushenko met his fourth wife in Petrozavodsk, when he signed his books at a local television studio after a performance. He fell in love with Maria just by looking at her hands, and six months later she became his wife. They almost never parted, and when the poet came to Russia, he was always accompanied by his wife. In her marriage to Maria, Yevtushenko had two more sons, and she had enough time and energy to take care of everyone, which her husband often admired.
In the photo - Evgeny Yevtushenko and Maria Novikova with their sons
Their views on literature and politics very often did not coincide, but they always found a common language on any issue and they were never bored together. Maria was always there when he was once again hospitalized and did everything possible to get him out of his next illness, and he dedicated poems to her in which he expressed his love and gratitude.
Maria was grieving the death of her husband, and only thanks to the support of her sons and close friends was she able to come to terms with this grief.
] July 18 – born in the city of Nizhneudinsk, Irkutsk region. Mother - Zinaida Ermolaevna Yevtushenko (1910–2002). Father - Alexander Rudolfovich Gangnus (1910–1976). Both are geologists. Soon the child was transported to Zima station, to his mother’s relatives, the Dubinins.
1933 – moving to the house of my grandfather, Rudolf Aleksandrovich Gangnus, at the address: Moscow, Fourth Meshchanskaya, 17, apt. 2, in Maryina Roshcha.
1937 – first poem “I woke up early, early...”
1940 – study at Moscow school No. 254.
1941 , autumn - evacuation to Winter. The mother, who became a singer, goes to the front with concerts.
1944
– Grandmother Maria Baykovskaya changes her grandson’s father’s surname to his mother’s.
End of July - return with mother to Moscow; To simplify entry into the capital, the year of my son’s birth has been changed to 1933.
1945
– studies at the school of “incorrigibles” No. 607.
Spring - mother returns from the front. Birth of sister Elena.
1948
– attends a literary consultation with the Molodaya Gvardiya publishing house.
Autumn – expelled from school. He leaves to work in his father’s geological exploration party in Kazakhstan.
1949
, June 2 – first publication: the poem “Two Sports” in the newspaper “Soviet Sport”.
October 9 - the first mention of the name of Yevgeny Yevtushenko as a poet in a review of poems sent to the editorial office of the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets.
1950
– active publications in newspapers.
Autumn - attends B. Pasternak’s reading of Goethe’s translation of “Faust” at the Central House of Writers. First meeting with Y. Smelyakov.
1952
, April – the first book of poems “Scouts of the Future” (Soviet Writer Publishing House).
August - admission (without a matriculation certificate) to the Literary Institute. A.M. Gorky. The beginning of friendship with V. Sokolov, R. Rozhdestvensky, V. Morozov, Yu. Kazakov, M. Roshchin, M. Tarasov. Joining the Writers' Union of the USSR.
1953
, summer - trip to Siberia (Winter, Irkutsk); an attempt to publish a collection of poems in Irkutsk; participation in a conference on the works of Mayakovsky; beginning of work on the poem “Winter Station”.
Autumn – meeting Bella Akhmadulina.
1955
- marriage to Bella Akhmadulina.
Book of lyrics “The Third Snow” (Soviet Writer Publishing House).
1956 , summer–autumn – publication of the book of poems “Highway of Enthusiasts” (Moscow Worker Publishing House); trips to Georgia and Abkhazia. Completion and publication of the poem “Winter Station” (October magazine, No. 10).
1957
, March 8 – speech at a meeting of writers dedicated to discussing V. Dudintsev’s novel “Not by Bread Alone.”
May - expelled from the Literary Institute.
June–July – trip to the Far East and Siberia.
1958
, June–July - second trip to the Far East and Siberia. Poem "Where are you from?"
End of October – refusal to participate in the condemnation of B. Pasternak due to the publication of the novel “Doctor Zhivago” abroad.
1959
– first prose: the story “The Fourth Bourgeois”; poem "Loneliness".
May 3 – personal acquaintance with B. Pasternak; parting autograph of the senior poet on the book “My Sister is Life.”
1960
– first visit to the USA as part of a delegation of Soviet writers. Beginning of friendship with Albert Todd, professor of Slavic studies at Queens College (New York).
The poem “The Fence” (magazine “Yunost”, No. 12) is in memory of B. Pasternak with a mystified dedication “To the memory of V. Lugovsky.”
1961
, August – visit to Babi Yar in the company of Anatoly Kuznetsov.
September 19 – publication of the poem “Babi Yar” in Literaturnaya Gazeta.
Stay in Cuba, work on a film script and the film “I am Cuba”. Communication with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Meeting Yuri Gagarin.
The song “Do the Russians want war?..” was written with composer E. Kolmanovsky; performed by M. Bernes.
1962
– beginning of work with Dm. Shostakovich on the Thirteenth Symphony to the verses of Evg. Yevtushenko.
Summer - the book “Wave of the Hand” (Molodaya Gvardiya Publishing House): first 100,000th circulation.
The publishing house "Volk und Welt" (GDR) publishes the first foreign book by Eug. Yevtushenko “This is what is happening to me.”
July–August – VII World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki. Poem "Snotty fascism."
1964 , July – second trip to the North with Yu. Kazakov. New northern poems (“Long screams”, “Smearing mosquitoes on your bald head…”, etc.).
1965
, April – publication of “Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station” in the magazine “Youth” and nomination of the poem for the Lenin Prize.
Summer – trip to Italy. Italian poems. Efforts about the return of I. Brodsky from exile.
1966
, March 5 – death of Anna Akhmatova. A poem in her memory.
March – trip around Australia with successful performances.
June - I. Brodsky and V. Aksenov are visiting Yevtushenko.
1967
, April–June – poem “Bullfight”.
May - the story “Pearl Harbor” in the magazine “Youth”.
Summer – expedition along the Lena River on the Mikeshkin carbass, led by Leonid Shinkarev. Lena cycle.
Autumn – production of the play “Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station” at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya.
1968
, spring – a big trip to Latin America (12 countries). David Siqueiros paints a portrait of Yevtushenko.
June 6 – assassination of Robert Kennedy. Poem "Freedom to Kill". Visiting the American Embassy together with I. Brodsky and E. Rein as a sign of condolences.
August 22 – sends a protest telegram addressed to L.I. Brezhnev (and A.N. Kosygin) in connection with the entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia.
August 23 – poem “Tanks are moving through Prague.”
1969
, February 10 - becomes a resident of a high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment.
March - receives the Order of the Badge of Honor.
A book of favorites “White Snows Are Coming...” is published (Goslitizdat). Poem "Silver Forest".
Evg. Yevtushenko and V. Aksenov were removed from the editorial board of the Yunost magazine.
1970
– fight with officials for the play “Under the Skin of the Statue of Liberty” (“Protest is a weapon of the unarmed”) at the Taganka Theater.
April – poem “Come to my grave...”.
End of summer - trip to Siberia.
1972
, January – stay in Vietnam.
Spring - an attack on Yevtushenko by the descendants of Bandera during a performance at a stadium in the city of San Paul (Minnesota). The poet’s one-volume book “Stolen Apples” is published in the USA. American poems (“Grand Canyon”, “House of the Wolf”, etc.). Seizure of luggage (books) at customs upon return from America.
May – meeting with I. Brodsky at Yevtushenko’s house.
Summer - the decision of the Moscow writers' organization to expel B. Okudzhava from the party. Yevtushenko's efforts in his defense.
1973
, February–May – poem “Full Growth”.
June – trip to Japan, the Philippines and Hawaii. Poem "Tokyo".
1974
, the beginning of the year - the poem “Snow in Tokyo”.
March–April – business trip to Naberezhnye Chelny. Poem "KAMAZ begins."
1975
– publication of the two-volume book “Selected Works” (publishing house “Khudozhestvennaya Literatura”).
August-December - poem "Glade".
1976
, the beginning of the year - the poem “Ivanovo Calicoes”.
December 28 – death of Alexander Rudolfovich Gangnus, the poet’s father.
1977
, June - the poem “Northern Surcharge” is published in the magazine “Youth”. Trip around Kolyma. The beginning of friendship with V. Tumanov.
November 16 – Yevtushenko’s review of O. Chukhontsev’s first book “From Three Notebooks” was published in Literaturnaya Gazeta.
1978
, January 8 – publication of the article “For the great cause of love” on the 100th anniversary of the death of N.A. Nekrasov in Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Poem “Dove in Santiago” in “New World” (No. 11).
1979
– beginning of professional photography.
The first exhibitions of Yevtushenko's photographs.
Summer – the film “Take Off” receives the Silver Prize at the Ninth International Film Festival in Moscow.
1980
– publication of the story “Ardabiola” in the magazine “Youth” (No. 3).
May – evening dedicated to the 70th birthday of Olga Berggolts. The poem “Victory does not have a girl’s face...”.
1981
, beginning of the year - goes to Italy to receive the Fregene Prize. Awarding the prize to them. Galaktion Tabidze.
Book release: “Ardabiola”; "Berry places"; “Fulcrum” (literary and journalistic works).
The East Siberian newsreel studio is releasing a film essay “The Poet from Zima Station.”
1982
, January - the first public reading of the poem “Mother and the Neutron Bomb” in the Concert Hall. P.I. Tchaikovsky.
Poem “Mom and the Neutron Bomb” in the magazine “New World” (No. 7). Work on the film "Kindergarten".
1983
– awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
July 18 – concert at the Olimpiysky sports complex (12 thousand spectators).
1984
, April – trip to Latin America. The idea of the poem "Fuku!" Release of the first volume of the three-volume “Collected Works” (Khudozhestvennaya Literatura publishing house).
Simba Academy Award (Italy).
1986 – distribution of the film “Kindergarten” in New York and Paris.
1987 – book “Tomorrow’s Wind” (Pravda Publishing House).
1989
– a photo album by Evg is published in the USA. Yevtushenko co-authored with Boyd Norton “Twins Separated. Alaska and Siberia" (Viking publishing house).
Creation of the Memorial Society: co-chairs - A. Adamovich, Y. Afanasyev, Evg. Yevtushenko, A. Sakharov.
1991 , August 19-21 – August Revolution. Performance on the balcony of the White House with the poem “August 19th”.
1992
, July 18 – poem “No Years”, written at Zima station. Celebrating the 60th anniversary in Irkutsk.
Yevtushenko becomes an honorary citizen of Zima.
1995 – publication of the anthology “Strophes of the Century” (Minsk – Moscow, publishing house “Polifact”).
1996 , May - the poem “Thirteen” was completed (started in October 1993).
2001
, July 22 – trip to Siberia: Zima station, Irkutsk, Bratsk, Angarsk. Siberian International Poetry Festival.
Opening of the house-museum of Evg. Yevtushenko in Winter.
2002
, January 11 – death of Zinaida Ermolaevna Yevtushenko, the poet’s mother.
November – international award Aquila (Italy). Hospitalized in Tulsa (USA). A cycle of poems.
2007
, January 16 – evening in the Great Hall of the Central House of Writers. Release of the one-volume book “All Yevtushenko: Poems and Poems 1937–2007” (publishing house “Slovo”); republished in 2010.
June - “a zigzag tour with reading poetry around the globe - in the USA, Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela, where he performed in both Russian and Spanish, and then in the Novosibirsk Academgorodok, in Petrozavodsk, Sartaval, in Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk.”
2009 , March - the one-volume book “All of Yevtushenko” wins in the “Poetry” category at the “Book of the Year” competition for 2008.
2010
, June – award of the State Prize of Russia.
July 17 – opening of a museum-gallery in Peredelkino, donated by Evgeny Yevtushenko to the state.
2013
, April 24-25 – premiere of the play “No Years” based on the poems of Eug. Yevtushenko directed by V. Smekhov at the Taganka Theater.
July 18 – the poet’s 80th birthday: receives congratulations from V.V. Putin, D.A. Medvedev and Patriarch Kirill. Release of the first volume of the five-volume anthology “A poet in Russia is more than a poet. Ten centuries of Russian poetry" (Russkiy Mir publishing house), books "Happiness and Retribution" (Eksmo publishing house) and "One Hundred Poems" (Progress-Pleiada publishing house).
November 26 – announced as a laureate of the special nomination “For Honor and Dignity” as part of the “Big Book” award.
2017 , April 1 - died at the age of 85, surrounded by family at Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa (Oklahoma, USA).
Once, while visiting Bella Akhmadulina, a tipsy Vasily Shukshin began to make fun of Yevtushenko: they say, what is he - a Siberian who grew up at the Zima station, wears a bow tie like the last dude! tarpaulin boots - not foppishness?..” The argument ended with the poet agreeing to remove the “butterfly”, provided that the writer took off his tarpaulin boots. The result of this story was the poem “Bow Tie...”
All his life, Yevtushenko dressed unusually, preferring colorful, brightly colored jackets, shirts and ties. According to Evgeniy Aleksandrovich’s explanation, such a passion came from his Siberian childhood during the war years - as a contrast to the black quilted jackets with numbers on the backs, which were worn by the gloomy prisoners who marched in endless columns to the prison camps, and the dusty earthy overcoats of the Vokhrovites accompanying them...
Photo: Anatoly Lomokhov
2. At Zima station, Irkutsk region, June 18, 1932, the future poet was born
On his father’s side he has Latvian, German and Belarusian roots, on his mother’s side – Polish and Ukrainian. Father Alexander Gangnus worked as a hydrogeologist; his developments were used in the construction of the Bratsk hydroelectric power station. Mother Zinaida Ermolaevna is an actress by second profession. Having not completed her studies at the Geological Exploration Institute, she entered the Music College named after. MM. Ippolitov-Ivanova, after graduating from which she became a soloist of the Moscow Theater. K.S. Stanislavsky.
In 1944, Evgeniy’s parents divorced - his father had another woman, but his communication with his son did not stop. Being an amateur poet himself, he gave the teenager a brilliant literary education.
3. At the very beginning of the war, parents sent 9-year-old Zhenya to be evacuated to his grandmothers
The boy traveled to the Irkutsk region alone. The journey took four and a half months. I rode as I had to, mostly on the roofs of train cars, tied with a belt to the ventilation hatch. I came under bombing more than once. However, the most terrible test was hunger. He earned a crust of bread and a mug of boiling water by reading poetry on the platforms. At one of the stops in the Urals, I went to a market where women were selling freshly boiled potatoes. Fascinated by the aroma, he picked up one potato and began to smell it. Noticing this, the traders attacked the hungry boy and began to beat him. Broken ribs. I escaped from the angry speculators by a miracle - the street children fought off...
Yevtushenko Evgeniy with his mother Zinaida Ermolaevna (1993). Photo: Nikolay Malyshev/TASS
4. “I stopped drinking vodka when I was 19.”
In the Abkhaz village of Gulripsh, where Yevtushenko had his own house, he was considered a famous winemaker. At one time, rumors spread about the poet's addiction to alcohol. False. “I stopped drinking vodka at the age of 19. - said the poet. “And he drank it from the age of 12...” This is when during the war he worked at a factory that produced grenades. In chilly Siberia, even children were allowed to drink so that they would not freeze... Yevtushenko developed his own philosophy regarding alcohol consumption. He believed that you could only drink when you were in a good mood. Because this process enhances exactly the state in which a person is currently located - be it depression or joy...
5. The future poet composed his first poems at the age of 5:
“Why is it so cold, why am I having difficulty breathing?
Because Aunt Puddle became fat Uncle Ice..."
From childhood, he began to compile his own dictionary of rhymes, which, as it seemed to the boy, did not yet exist in poetry. There were about 10 thousand of them. Alas, over the years the notebook with these notes was lost...
Songs that have long become popular songs were written based on Yevtushenko’s poems: “The river runs, it melts in the fog...”, “Do Russians want war”, “Waltz about the waltz”, “Ferris wheel”, “And it’s snowing...”, “Your traces”, “Don’t rush”, “God willing...”
In addition to Russian, Yevgeny Yevtushenko was fluent in four languages: English, French, Italian and Spanish.
6. In 1991, Evgeniy Alexandrovich left with his family for America
He taught Russian poetry and Russian cinema at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Queens College in New York.
By the way, Evgeniy Aleksandrovich received a diploma of higher education only in 2001. The fact is that shortly before graduating from the Literary Institute. A. M. Gorky, fifth-year student Yevtushenko received disciplinary sanctions for publicly supporting Dudintsev’s officially condemned novel “Not by Bread Alone,” after which he was expelled from the university.
Petrozavodsk. Poet Evgeny Yevtushenko with his wife Maria and sons (seven-year-old Dima and five-year-old Zhenya) visiting his mother-in-law Gana Nikolaevna Novikova. (1994). Photo by Semyon Maisterman/TASS
7. In 1963, the poet was nominated for the Nobel Prize for the poem “Babi Yar”
In the USSR, for these same poems, which raised the topic of the Holocaust, which was taboo in the USSR, he was accused of anti-patriotism. Miraculously published in Literaturnaya Gazeta, it had the effect of a bomb exploding. All copies of that issue were immediately sold out. But the scandal erupted in earnest. And the editor-in-chief of “Literature,” Valery Kosolapov, who decided to publish it, soon lost his position... Impressed by “Babi Yar,” Dmitry Shostakovich composed his famous 13th symphony. Which, having been performed once, was immediately removed from the repertoire...
8. Yevtushenko was officially married four times
The first legal wife was Bella Akhmadulina. They lived together for only three years, and all this time the husband was desperately jealous of his beautiful wife and her countless admirers. Stormy quarrels between the spouses gave way to no less stormy reconciliations... Passionate love ended due to Bella's pregnancy - the young poet was not ready for the birth of a child and forced his wife to have an abortion. For which he subsequently, bitterly repenting, blamed himself for the rest of his life.
With Voznesensky and Akhmadulina (1984). Photo: Global Look Press
Evgeniy was married to his second wife, Galina Sokol-Lukonina, for 17 years. They knew each other long before the divorce from Akhmadullina, but got together only after both of their marriages began to crack at the seams. After seven years of marriage, the couple took a baby from the orphanage and adopted a boy, Petya (1967), whose godmother was Galina Volchek. He became an artist.
According to the stories of relatives, the marriage broke up due to Evgeniy’s numerous affairs on the side. After the divorce, the husband and wife maintained friendly relations. And his father never left his adopted son with his attention: he paid for his education in America, provided him with an apartment... However, Peter, especially after the death of his mother, developed an alcohol addiction. Two years ago, he died of sudden cardiac arrest in a psychiatric hospital, where he spent six months due to mental illness.
For the third time, Yevtushenko married Irishwoman Jan Butler. She worked in a Soviet publishing house, was engaged in translations of Russian literature and was an ardent admirer of the poet... This marriage, which lasted eight years, gave Yevtushenko two sons: Alexander (1979) and Anton (1981). Both were born and live in London. The firstborn works as a journalist for the BBC. The second son is disabled. Anton was diagnosed with a rare incurable disease.
Evgeny Yevtushenko with his wife Jan (Jan Butler) Moscow (January 22, 1979). Photo: East News
From 1987 until his last day, Evgeniy Alexandrovich’s life was connected with Maria Novikova (married to Yevtushenko). They were separated by age by 30 years. We met when Yevtushenko was filing for a divorce from Dzhan. It so happened that young Masha, a graduate of a medical school, approached the legendary poet to ask for an autograph for her mother. Five months later they got married.
Unable to find a job in America in a medical specialty, Maria received another education - philology, and devoted herself to teaching. Teaches Russian language and literature to college students.
In this marital union, Evgeny Yevtushenko also had two sons: Evgeny (1989) and Dmitry (1990). Both write poetry and translate their father's poetry into English. The eldest is studying political science. The younger one is a computer scientist and plans to become a philologist.
9. Yevtushenko’s relatives were close to him until the very end...39_014
Death began to creep up on the poet long ago. In 2013, due to the developing inflammatory process, Yevtushenko’s leg was amputated. Having barely recovered from the operation, the poet flew to Russia and gave more than 40 concerts around the country...
A year and a half ago, he was hospitalized in Moscow with a diagnosis of arrhythmia. To eliminate problems associated with the heart rhythm, he was fitted with a pacemaker...
This year, a large festival was being prepared for the poet’s anniversary: in addition to anniversary evenings in various halls in Moscow, Yevtushenko planned to go on a tour of the cities of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
According to TASS, two days before hospitalization, in a telephone conversation with the general producer of the special events, Sergei Vinnikov, Evgeniy Alexandrovich addressed him with two requests. Firstly, he expressed his wish to be buried in Russia - in the writer's village of Peredelkino, not far from the grave of Boris Pasternak. And, admitting that he was in extremely serious condition, he said: “I apologize... for letting you down very badly. But... I ask you that the projects we have planned together - an evening in the Great Hall of the Conservatory and a performance in the Kremlin Palace - take place without me. Promise me this. I will die with a calm soul..."
Next to the poet in the last hours were his sons Evgeny and Dmitry, and their mother Maria Vladimirovna, now the widow of Evgeny Alexandrovich...
