How lieutenant Golitsyn and cornet Obolensky became the heroes of a romance

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Starting from the sixties of the last century, interest in "White Guard" songs arose in Soviet society. The most popular was the song, which told how the White Guard officers leave their homeland. Oddly enough, but such compositions simply did not exist until the 60s. They gained popularity after the films "His Excellency's Adjutant", "The Elusive Avengers", where the officers of the royal regiment were shown as noble, interesting people.

White Guard

In defiance of the "red" propaganda, it became fashionable for Soviet people to have blue-blooded ancestors, such words as aiguillettes, cavalry guards, golden epaulets, appeals like "Lord!" and so on.

It is curious that interest in the White Guard swept not only among Soviet intellectual circles, but also among the emigrants of the third wave. Singers in restaurants on Brighton Beach, instantly catching the mood in society, included songs on this topic in their own repertoire. Virtual lieutenant Golitsyn and cornet Obolensky became nationalheroes.

Since the third wave of emigration was followed by an unsightly trail of "sausage emigration", through such romances they wanted to stretch a connecting bridge between themselves and the emigrants of the first wave, who were forced to leave their desecrated homeland.

Fake

Despite this, many people are still convinced that the romance "Cornet Obolensky" and other "White Guard" songs were created at that terrible time for Russia, when brother went against brother, and ships full of people left the Crimea to Turkey, France and other countries. Among other things, such romances contrasted so much with Soviet mass songs that it was impossible to imagine that they were written at the same time.

One of the researchers of the twentieth century, who studied white emigration, claimed that when in the 80s the recording of this song was turned on in front of the emigrants of the first wave, after listening to it, after a minute's pause, they all began to laugh together. This confirms that the romance about Lieutenant Golitsyn and how cornet Obolensky “put on orders” is a fake, kitsch. Many believe that the song is a symbol of the white movement, but not everyone is aware that in any war, its symbol is premature death, dirt, lice, tears, blood, and so on. The version that the song was allegedly written by a white officer after the Civil War has not been confirmed anywhere.

How many orders cornets could have

In Soviet times, the "White Guard romance" became a real hit. At first they listened to him underground,but later, in the nineties, the song was first performed on television by Alexander Malinin.

As for the orders in the romance, there is another inconsistency. Cornet Obolensky could not put on orders only because the rank of cornet was the junior (first) in the cavalry and could receive only three orders: St. Stanislav 3rd degree, St. Anna 4th degree and St. George 4th degree. But the order of St. Anna was attached to the hilt of the saber, and when awarded with St. George, the cornet was promoted in rank. Among other things, for each order, the recipient had to pay a cash contribution, the amount of which was spent on charity. It turns out that the cornet Obolensky could only put on the Order of St. Stanislav.

Songwriter

And yet, who is the author of this romance? Both in Soviet times and at the moment, the debate about the authorship of the song does not subside. At one time, Zhanna Bichevskaya, Mikhail Zvezdinsky, and Vladislav Kotsyshevsky, the author of many songs of the seventies and the organizer of the Black Sea Gull ensemble, declared themselves authors. Then the poet and bard A. Galich was announced as the author.

Arkady Severny performed the romance for the first time in May 1977. The recording was made in the underground studio (apartment) of Sergei Maklakov, the patron of chanson in those years. Arkady Severny performed songs together with the Black Sea Chaika ensemble. No earlier entries were found. Friends of Arkady Severny on the singer’s official website say that at that time he experienced difficulties with the repertoire and he himself suggested including andthis romance. He had a quatrain of the song available, but the situation improved when a close friend of Sergei Maklakov, the poet V. Romensky, agreed to Sergei's request and completed the "White Guard romance". Thus came the 20th century hit Cornet Obolensky.

In 1984, in the film "The Conspiracy Against the Country of the Soviets", when white emigrants were shown, the sound background was a song performed by Arkady Severny.