[This is our translation of Vladimir Vysotsky’s 1965 song, “Есть на земле предостаточно рас…” (“The earth has so many races…”) You can also read our analysis of the Russian and Soviet Bard tradition here.]
Vladimir Vysotsky (Владимир Высоцкий) wrote political songs, but they were not all rebellious. He was playful with the status quo, encouraging aspects of Soviet identity without relying on specific figures or ideologies. Commenting on the Sino-Soviet Split was among his more direct allusions, which reflected public opinion at the time.
By the 1960s, the Sino-Soviet Split played a major role in Russia’s imagination. Although ‘officially’ dressed in Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy, its true reasons were practical. Soviets criticized Mao Zedong’s cult of personality, reneged on nuclear weapons, and feared that much of their own Far East territory was ill-gotten. China was encircled by Western powers whereas the USSR was not, which encouraged the USSR to avoid “Chinese wars”. Demographic anxiety was particularly common, as were concerns about the world’s resources—and spoils…
Vladimir Vysotsky’s reference to Syngman Rhee is particularly telling, as Mao Zedong is being portrayed as a revisionist-imperialist conspiring with an anti-Communist:
Владимир Высоцкий – Есть на земле предостаточно рас…
Есть на земле предостаточно рас –
Просто цветная палитра, –
Воздуха каждый вдыхает за раз
Два с половиною литра!
Если так дальше, так — полный привет –
Скоро конец нашей эры:
Эти китайцы за несколько лет
Землю лишат атмосферы!
Сон мне тут снился неделю подряд –
Сон с пробужденьем кошмарным:
Будто — я в дом, а на кухне сидят
Мао Цзедун с Ли Сын Маном!
И что подают мне какой-то листок:
На, мол, подписывай — ну же, –
Очень нам нужен ваш Дальний Восток –
Ах, как ужасно нам нужен!..
Только об этом я сне вспоминал,
Только о нем я и думал, –
Я сослуживца недавно назвал
Мао — простите — Цзедуном!
Но вскорости мы на Луну полетим, –
И что нам с Америкой драться:
Левую — нам, правую — им,
А остальное — китайцам.
Левую — нам, правую — им,
А остальное — китайцам.
Vladimir Vysotsky – “The earth has so many races…”
The earth has so many races
What a colorful palette!
Everyone inhales with each breath
Two and a half liters of air!
If this continues – well, damn…
It will soon be the end of our era
These Chinese in a few years
Will strip the earth of its atmosphere!
Dreamed this dream all week
With a nightmarish awakening:
I go home and in the kitchen sit
Mao Zedong and Syngman Rhee!
And they hand me some sheet of paper
“Go ahead, sign it – come on,
We really need your Far East,
Oh, how badly we need it!”
I remembered this dream all day
All day I just thought about it
And recently called a co-worker
Mao – forgive me – Zedong!
But pretty soon we’ll fly to the moon
Why should we fight with America?
The left side for us, the right for them
And the rest for the Chinese!
The left side for us, the right for them
And the rest for the Chinese!
* * *
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More from Alex Sheremet: ANALYSIS: Misreading Wallace Stevens’ “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”, SEASONAL GRUNGE: Spring & Winter in NYC on 35mm Film, ANALOG GRUNGE: Washington DC on 35mm Film