Vladimir Yakovlevich Lazarev is a writer, poet, publicist, member of the Union of Writers of the USSR since 1963. He is the author of many works of literature. More than 70 songs were written on his poems, which were popular on the stage in Soviet times. The poet wrote the words for the march "Farewell of the Slav" to the music of Vasily Agapkin.
Biography
Vladimir Yakovlevich Lazarev (real name Lazarev-Mildon) was born on January 26, 1936 in Kharkov. His father was Yakov Lazarevich Mildon, a native of Odessa.
Vladimir Lazarev spent his childhood and adolescence in Tula. In this city, he graduated from high school and the Tula Mechanical Institute.
The boy's poetic talent manifested itself from childhood. He wrote poetry when he was in school and at the institute. Vladimir received his first literary award in 1956 as a student. His poem "Youth" was awarded at the International Competition in Prague and translated into many foreign languages.
After graduation, he worked in a factory, but also continued to write.
In 1959, the second collection of poems by V. Lazarev was published, which was called "Handshake".
The poet wrote poetry about his beloved land, youth, his friends.
In March 1963, Vladimir Lazarev was admitted to the Writers' Union of the USSR.
In 1965 he entered the A. M. Gorky, where he studied at higher literary courses.
Since 1967, Vladimir Yakovlevich lived in Moscow. He worked as a literary critic, editor, publicist for the magazine "Our Heritage". This time is characteristic of Lazarev's creative upsurge. His books are published in prose and poetry. He writes articles on topical socio-political issues.
In 1982, the anthology "Poetry of Russian Villages" was published, which was compiled by V. Ya. Lazarev. It featured both recognized poets and little-known talented authors.
In the eighties of the last century, he worked on the compilation of the Moscow collections "Poetry Day. 1981" and "Poetry Day. 1986".
When the period of perestroika began in the country, Lazarev spoke at literary meetings and forums. He talked about the revelry of immoral songs that destroy the souls of people. Lazarev exposed the members of the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU, who "dragged" their relatives into the Writers' Union. He spoke openly about songwriters who wrote low-quality lyrics for a lot of money. The so-called "literary slaves" appeared among the writers. They wrote books for high-ranking officials. This is how the memoirs of L. I. Brezhnev, for which the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee received the country's highest literary prize.
The atmosphere that reigned in the Writers' Union became more and more unbearable for the poet every day. He was not allowed to speak at meetings. Persecution began against Lazarev because he criticized the existing system. They tried to expel him from the Writers' Union, but he got off with a reprimand.
In August 1999, Vladimir Yakovlevich emigrated from Russia to the United States of America.
The writer currently lives in Northern California. His home is in the small town of Mountain View in the middle of Silicon Valley. Nearby are the American companies Google, Microsoft.
Creation
The poet himself claimed that he did not specifically compose the songs. Famous composers wrote songs on his poems: Mark Fradkin, Vladimir Migulya, Evgeniy Doga, Yan Frenkel, Arno Babadzhanyan and many others.
Lyric songs by Vladimir Lazarev were performed by the most popular Soviet pop artists. "How not to love this land for me" sang Lyudmila Zykina, "Night Talk" - Anna German, "Do not cool your heart, son" - Yuri Bogatikov, "My White City" was performed by Sofia Rotaru.
Once the pilot-cosmonaut Vitaly Sevastyanov told the poet that during a flight into space, together with Peter Klimuk, he yearned for the earth. He remembered the noise of the rain, the smell of the grass after the rain. Vladimir Lazarev wrote the song "I Dreamed the Sound of Rain" to the music of Eugene Doga.
In 1977, this song was performed at the Blue Light, where the astronauts were present. It was sung by the singer Nadezhda Chepraga. The song "The Noise of the Rain" became a kind of anthem for the cosmonauts.
In 1999, Vladimir Lazarev became a laureate of the All-Russian prize named after Alexei Fatyanov "Nightingales, Nightingales". At this festival of poetry and song, which is annually held in the city of Vyazniki, Vladimir region, Vladimir Lazarev was awarded a commemorative diploma for his contribution to the development of the art of song.
In 2012, the poems by Vladimir Lazarev, written to the music of Vasily Agapkin "Farewell of a Slav", were published in the USA. They were published in the newspaper Russkaya Zhizn, which is published in Russian in San Francisco.
Before writing the poems for the legendary march, the poet did a great job. Vladimir Yakovlevich met with friends and contemporaries of Vasily Agapkin, studied the history of this march. He managed to find out interesting facts.
During the Civil War, soldiers of the White Guard marched to the sound of "Farewell to a Slav". The Soviet government imposed an unofficial ban on the march.
Vasily Ivanovich Agapkin was the chief conductor of the parade, which took place in Moscow on Red Square on November 7, 1941. But the march at this parade did not sound.
In 1945, Vasily Agapkin took part in the main Victory Parade as a conductor. His march was not performed there either.
It sounded only in 1957 in the feature film "The Cranes Are Flying", thanks to the film's director Mikhail Kalatozov.
In Moscow, on the territory of the Belorussky railway station, there is a monument to the march Farewell to a Slav.
In 2001, Vladimir Lazarev received the second prize of the New York edition "New Journal" for the best prose at the turn of the century.
In 2006, a book of his poems and poems "On the Overflow of Times" was published in New York.
In 2013, a collection of songs, Hear My Melody, was released in San Francisco. Vladimir Lazarev wrote it together with musician Mikhail Margulis.
Personal life
The wife of Vladimir Lazarev is Olga Edgarovna Tuganova. Before emigrating to the United States, she worked at the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Her profession was related to the study of American culture and literature. She is a doctor of historical sciences and a candidate of legal sciences. She has written a number of books on Americanism.
In 1994, a socio-philosophical book "The Circle of Concepts" was published in Moscow. It was written by Vladimir Lazarev in collaboration with his wife Olga Tuganova.
Olga Edgarovna has a son, Alexander, from a previous marriage. He lives in California and is married to an American woman.
