FEDOR SHALYAPIN
Boris's four deaths
Scenes from the opera "Boris Godunov" by M. P. Mussorgsky
And there is denunciation, the boyars sedition, the intrigues of Lithuania and secret mines, glory and pestilence, and cowardice, and ruin. Like a wild beast, plague-stricken people roam! Hungry, poor Russia groans!
From Boris's monologue "I have reached the highest power"
The idea to collect on one disc all the recordings of scenes from Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov" with the participation of Fyodor Chaliapin in the role of Boris was given to me back in 1998 by Vladimir Gurovich, a world-renowned collector of gramophone records and compiler (together with Alan Kelly) of Shalyapin's most reliable discography today* ... In those years, our country was led by Boris Yeltsin. It was a time when catastrophic events followed one another. In addition, many analogies were seen between these events and those that accompanied the reign of Godunov. Then the appearance of the disc was timely, but none of the producers took up its publication - the project seemed odious, and the program was too gloomy. Now the situation in the country has changed, and society is ready to perceive Shalyapinsky Boris in isolation from the hopeless fate of today's Russia, simply as the pinnacle in the work of the greatest Russian singer.
Chaliapin's first performance of the part of Boris took place in 1898 at the Private Russian Opera in Moscow. In a review of the performance, published in the newspaper “Russkie vedomosti” on December 10, 1898, it was noted: “From makeup to every pose, every musical intonation, it was something amazingly lively, convex, bright. ‹…› The scene of Boris's hallucinations performed by Mr. Chaliapin makes an irresistibly strong impression; the shocked audience endlessly summoned the artist after her. "
Chaliapin attracted the attention of a sophisticated audience not only with his magnificent voice and the ability to overcome difficult musical passages. The scale of personality is what this simple-looking guy amazed his contemporaries with and what raised him to the level of Musorgsky's music, to the role of Tsar Boris - the ruler of the Russian State. It is thanks to this scale of personality that Chaliapin succeeded in many arts: he became a bright dramatic artist, a brilliant artist, sculptor, and writer. He just created, easily and effortlessly. I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that the image of Boris Godunov, as we now imagine him, is not only the result of the work of Pushkin and Mussorgsky, but also of Chaliapin.
Chaliapin did not have such success as in the part of Boris in any role, although by the time the opera Boris Godunov was staged he had been singing in Moscow for four years. Why did the image of Boris come to the fore? The artist answers this question in his book "Mask and Soul": "Great power is in Boris Godunov, this personality most attractive to me in my entire repertoire."
A special role in the attractiveness of the image of Boris for Chaliapin was played by the folk roots of Musorgsky's music, deeply consonant with him. His first teacher (in the Tiflis musical circle) Dmitry Andreevich Usatov helped the singer to comprehend the pictorial means of Mussorgsky. In the book "Mask and Soul" Chaliapin recalls his lessons:
- Here in "Boris Godunov" Mussorgsky has two voices in the choir, two short, seemingly insignificant musical phrases.
- Mityukh, and Mityukh, faq orem?
Mityukh answers:
- Vaughn - how do I know?
And in the musical image, you clearly and definitely see the physiognomy of these two guys. You see: one of them has a red nose, loves to drink and has a hoarse voice, while in the other you feel like a simpleton.
Usatov sang these two voices and then said:
- Notice how music can act on your imagination. You see how eloquent and characteristic silence and pause can be.
Note that many years later, Chaliapin reproduces the statements of his teacher in every detail!
Contemporaries noted Chaliapin's ability to grasp everything on the fly - and it was supported by a remarkable peasant mind, which extracted a grain of meaning from everything, discarding verbal husks. The artist had an amazing ability, like a sponge, to absorb knowledge and culture, to penetrate into the souls and characters of people, into the essence of things and events. Here are some examples.
When Chaliapin arrived in Ufa in 1890 to enroll in the choir of the Theater of Comic Opera and Operetta, he, according to entrepreneur S. Semenov-Samarsky, was awkward, shy, poorly dressed (in boots almost on bare feet, etc.). And by 1920 (see photo) he had completely changed, having acquired the appearance and manners of a real dandy, not only by Russian, but also by foreign standards - all Paris dressed then like Chaliapin.
And one more illustrative example. Until 1901, Chaliapin did not know foreign languages, did not sing in French or Italian. He took up languages only when he was invited to sing the part of Mephistopheles in A. Boito's opera “Mephistopheles” at the Teatro alla Scala. Here is what V. Doroshevich writes in the newspaper “ Russian word"About the artist's debut at La Scala on March 3, 1901:" The musical people immediately saw who they were dealing with. A murmur of approval swept through the hall. The audience listened in amazement to the Russian singer, who performed a piece in which phrasing was everything in impeccable Italian. Not a single word full of irony and sarcasm has disappeared ... ”After some time, Chaliapin is already singing in French, and the purest, as evidenced by the recordings of the Marseillaise by Rouge de Lille and Bacchic Song by A. Glazunov made in 1911-1912. And after that, he sings in all his recordings (with a few exceptions) in the original language.
Now about the program of our disk. It includes practically all the recordings of scenes and monologues from the opera Boris Godunov, in which Chaliapin plays the role of Boris, released on gramophone records. The program opens with Scene 2 from the Prologue to the Opera - Coronation Scene [lane 1], which includes the Glory choir and Boris's monologue The Soul Grieves. This scene outlines the plot of the opera, and most importantly, it immediately reveals the irrationality of the relationship between the authorities and the people in Russia. The scene begins with a murderously gloomy chime of bells; then, after the protocol glorification of the new tsar by Prince Shuisky, the chorus of the townspeople enters, which, just as gloomily and incredulously, praises tsar Boris Ivanovich, who has ascended the throne. This mood is very accurately conveyed in the music. After that, the words of Boris, seized with anxious forebodings, are heard: “My soul is grieving, some involuntary fear with an ominous foreboding gripped my heart. O Righteous One, oh my sovereign Father, gaze from heaven at the tears of faithful servants, and send me a sacred blessing on power ... ”These words sung by Shalyapin run shivers down my skin! But gloomy forebodings recede - they are replaced by Boris's sincere promise to rule righteously. In the sound of the orchestra and choir, the mood changes instantly. In the chorus re-praising the king and in the ringing of bells, we hear joyful exultation. The people believed Boris!
The monologue is psychologically very difficult. Chaliapin tried to record this scene four times: in 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1931 - and only one recording, dated October 26, 1925, far from the best in quality, with an orchestra and choir under the direction of Albert Coates, was released with the permission of Chaliapin in light. It was she who entered the program of our disc.
This is followed by recordings of Boris's well-known monologues and other scenes from acts 2 and 4 of the opera, taken at different times. These recordings are combined into four groups, each of which corresponds to a certain period of the artist's life. The climax in each group is scene Boris's death.
The first group [tracks 2–5] is made up of recordings made by Chaliapin from 1926 to 1931 and which have now become classics. These are the monologues of Boris "I have reached the highest power" and "Oh, it's hard! Let me take a breath ”, as well as the scenes“ Farewell to my son ”and“ Death of Boris ”. These recordings were made using an electric method, mastered by the company "H is M aster's V oice"In December 1925. They are simply excellent in quality. I would like to draw your attention to the sound of the bell in The Death of Boris [track 5], which is amazing! And Chaliapin himself is good in these recordings, especially in the hallucination scene [track 3]. In these recordings, we are amazed by his masterfully made and impeccably honed interpretation. One gets the impression that the singer wants to tell the descendants how to perform the part of Boris, as if giving a master class to future generations of singers.
The second set of recordings [tracks 6-13] are scenes from acts 2 and 4 of the opera, recorded during the live performance of Boris Godunov on 4 July 1928 at London's Covent Garden Theater. These recordings, made by HMV as an experiment, are perhaps the most interesting. Unlike other recordings, Shalyapin's performance of Boris's part seems spontaneous and intuitive in them. The artist departs from many of his developments in the interpretation of the image of Boris. Moreover, it is not "tied" to the microphone, as it happens in the studio. And the singer does not address the descendants, but to the audience, who then were lucky enough to get to the performance. Listening to this recording, for the first time we perceive Chaliapin not only as a singer, but also as a phenomenal dramatic artist who, thanks to the power of his divine gift, makes us believe that the soul of Tsar Boris has settled in his body. Particularly impressive are the pauses filled with fantastic tension, unexpectedly reminding us of the lessons of DA Usatov. But the most striking thing in this recording is that Boris appears before us not only as a fiend tsar, mired in intrigues with the boyars, but also as a man, with his sufferings, with love for his son and daughter. How much tenderness piercing the heart in the words of a dying father: "Take care of your sister, Princess, my son!" Prayer to God makes us believe in the sincerity of Boris's faith; his words are full of humility: "Stand on guard of the fighters for the right faith, sacredly honor the holy saints of God."
Unfortunately, due to the remoteness of the singers from the microphone and noise in the hall, the recordings made at the performance turned out to be deaf; for this reason, and also because of the poor intelligibility of the performers' speech, most of them were rejected by HMV. As a result, only four gramophone records with excerpts from the performance were released. All these fragments are included in the disc, including the previously unreleased "Scene with the boyars". It's only a shame that the boyars, who are also members of the Duma, sing in Italian in this recording, which in itself seems incredible; because of the alien music of Mussorgian Italian language. For this reason, the opposition between the Duma and Tsar Boris may not be felt by the audience.
The next group of recordings [tracks 14-15] includes Farewell to Son and Death of Boris. Chaliapin made his first recording in America in 1922, right after he left Russia forever, becoming a "world guest performer" until the end of his days. The second recording was made in England in 1923. Listening to these recordings, especially Farewell to Son, one can feel the loneliness, some confusion of the artist, his self-doubt (although starting with the words “Lord, look, I pray, the same power of the Shalyapin spirit is felt at the tears of a sinful father”). The recordings of 1922-1923 are generally somewhat upsetting: Chaliapin sings in them in a slightly melodramatic way, which was not in his earlier recordings. Even worse, they evoke the feeling of a great artist's sunset.
Fortunately, this sunset did not happen: in 1925, Chaliapin had a "second wind". Here is what one of the English newspapers wrote on October 20, 1925: “Time and years have weathered the voice, shattered the strength, shaken the power ... But the genius of the singer conquered time and years. Chaliapin is not that one; but he is not a "former singer" former glory... He's just different. Chaliapin sang yesterday - he sang differently than before - and the audience went berserk ... ”How right the author of the note is can be estimated by listening to the monologue“ The Soul Grieves ”[track 1], recorded by Shalyapin just six days after the mentioned concert.
In the concluding part of the program [tracks 16–17], we introduce listeners to the earliest recordings of Farewell to Son and Death of Boris, which were made by Shalyapin back in tsarist Russia in 1911. Here Boris is a rebel reformer. The roots of this interpretation are in the singer's sympathy for the revolutionary movement that was then emerging in Russia. These sympathies are evidenced by the "Dubinushka" (in three versions) and "Marseillaise" sung by Chaliapin at the same time on the disc. The fact that Chaliapin pinned great hopes on the revolution, did not rely on the "saints of God", is perfectly conveyed by the intonations of the singer in "Farewell to Son". By the way, this recording brings to us the beauty and fantastic power of the voice of Fyodor Chaliapin, who was then in his best shape - it was from this voice, according to legend, that chandeliers crumbled and mirrors burst.
With a persuasiveness accessible only to a brilliant artist, Chaliapin revealed in Boris the inner conflict between the striving for power and grave reproaches of conscience, laid bare the verdict of his internal court. In such a reading of the image of Tsar Boris on the opera stage, Chaliapin will never be equal. And this is what else attracts us today to Boris Shalyapin: all the recordings he made in this role are permeated with aching pain for the fate of Russia.
Anatoly Likhnitsky
DISK PROGRAM
1. Coronation scene: the chorus "Glory" and Boris's monologue "The Soul Grieves" (Prologue). O register n / a by Albert Coates (acoustic recording; England, Hayes, 26/10/1925). HMV D.B.900 (mat. No. Cc7064Δ and Cc7066Δ) 8:25
Studio electric recordings made in England
2. I have reached the highest power (act 2). Orchestra directed by Max Steiman (Queens Hall, London, 06/06/1931). HMV D.B.1532 (matr. No. 2B577Δ) 5:04
3. Oh, it's hard! Let me take my breath away (act 2). Orchestra directed by Max Steiman (Queens Hall, London, 06/06/1931). HMV D.B.1532 (mat. No. 2B578Δ) 4:04
4. Farewell to the son (act 4). Orchestra conducted by Eugene Goossens (Little Queens Hall, London, 21/05/1926). HMV D.B.934 (mat. No. CR375Δ) 4:20
5. Death of Boris(action 4). About the Register under Lawrence Collingwood (Little Queens Hall, London, 13/06/1927). HMV D.B.934 (Mat. No. Cc10938Δ) 4:30
Electric recordings of the play at the Covent Garden Theater (London) dated July 4, 1928
6. I have reached the highest power (act 2; Fedor - M. Carosio). Orchestra conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza. HMV D.B.1181 (mat. No. CR2160Δ) 4:38
7. The heavy hand of the formidable judge (act 2). Orchestra conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza. HMV D.B.1181 (mat. No. CR2131Δ) 3:44
8. Phew, it's hard! Let me take my breath away (act 2). Orchestra conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza. HMV D.B.1182 (matr. No. R2134Δ) 3:57
9. Scene with the boyars (act 4). Choir and orchestra led by Vincenzo Bellezza. HMV D.B.1182 (mat. No. CR2138Δ) 3:14
10. It is a pity that Shuisky does not have a Prince (act 4; Shuisky - A. Bada, Pimen - L. Manfrini). Choir and orchestra led by Vincenzo Bellezza. HMV D. B .1183 ( matr. No. CR2139Δ) 2:55
11. Farewell, my son, I am dying (act 4; Fyodor - M. Carosio). Orchestra conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza. HMV D.B.1183 (matr. No. R2141Δ) 4:07
12. Farewell to the son (act 4). Choir and orchestra led by Vincenzo Bellezza. HMV D.B.3184 (matr. No. СR2142Δ) 3:30
13. Death of Boris(act 4; Fedor - M. Carosio). Choir and orchestra led by Vincenzo Bellezza. HMV D.B.3184 (mat. No. CR2143Δ) 4:39
Acoustic recordings made in the USA and England
14. Farewell to the son (act 4). Orchestra conducted by Joseph Pasternak (USA, Camden, 01/30/1922).Victrola 6455 A ( matr. No. 26101-1) 4:24
15. Death of Boris(action 4). About the register under the direction of Eugene Goossens (England, Hayes, 02/07/1923).Victrola 6455 B ( matr. No. Сс3197) 4:08
Acoustic recordings made in Tsarist Russia
16. Farewell to the son (act 4). (St. Petersburg, 15/10/1911). Gramophone 022222 (mat. No. 2492½) 4:24
17. Death of Boris(action 4). (St. Petersburg, 15/10/1911). Gramophone 022223 (matr. No. 2493с) 4:13
Total playing time of the disc 74:17
FEODOR CHALIAPIN
The Four Deaths of Boris
1. Prologue. Coronation scene - Gloria allo Zar Boris: I am oppressed (Boris). Chorus & orch. cond... Albert Coates (acoustic record, England, Hayes, 26/10/1925 ), HMV D.B.900 (Mat.No. Cc7064Δ and Cc7066Δ) 8:25
Studio electric recordings made in England
2. Act 2: Boris monologue - I have attained the highest power. Orch. cond. Max Steimann (Queen's Hall, London, 06/06/1931), HMV D.B.1532 (Mat. No. 2B577Δ) 5:04
3. Act 2: Clock scene - My heart is heavy. Orch. cond. Max Steimann (Queen's Hall, London, 06/06/1931), HMV D.B.1532 (Mat. No. 2B578Δ) 4:04
4. Act 4: Farewell, my son. Orch. cond. Eugene Goossens (Small Queen's Hall, London, 21/05/1926), HMV D.B.934 (Mat. No. CR375Δ) 4:20
5. Act 4: Death of boris... The Bell! The passing bell! Chorus & orch. cond. Lawrance Collingwood (Small Queen's Hall, London, 13/06/1927), HMV D.B.934 (Mat. No. Cc10938Δ) 4:30
Live electric recordings made in Royal Opera House, Covent-Garden (London) on July 4, 1928
6. Act 2: Scene Boris - Feodor & monologue (pt 1) - And you my son ... I have attained the highest power. (Feodor - M. Carosio). Orch. cond. Vincenzo Bellezza, HMV D.B.1181 (Mat. No. CR2160Δ) 4:38
7. Act 2: Boris monologue (pt 2) - Heavy is the hand of retribution. Orch. cond. Vincenzo Bellezza, HMV D.B.1181 (Mat. No. CR2131Δ) 3:44
8. Act 2: Clock scene - My heart is heavy (Boris). Orch. cond. Vincenzo Bellezza, HMV D.B.1182 (Mat. No. R2134Δ) 3:57
9. Act 4: Scene in the Duma (pt 1) - Su, boiardi, incomminciamo (chorus). Orch. cond. Vincenzo Bellezza, HMV D.B.1182 (Mat. No. CR2138Δ) 3:14
10. Act 4: Scene in the Duma (pt 2) - Ma qui non e Shuisky. Boris, Shuisky (A. Bada), Pimen (L. Manfrini). Chorus & orch. cond. Vincenzo Bellezza, HMV D.B.1183 (Mat. No. CR2139Δ) 2:55
11. Act 4: Boris farewell - Leave us. Farewell, my son, I die. Boris and Feodor (M. Carosio). Orch. cond. Vincenzo Bellezza, HMV D.B.1183 (Mat. No. R2141Δ) 4:07
12. Act 4: Boris prayer - Lord God, look down. Chorus & orch. cond. Vincenzo Bellezza, HMV D.B.3184 (Mat.No. CR2142Δ) 3:30
13. Act 4: Death of boris... Feodor (M. Carosio). Chorus & orch. cond. Vincenzo Bellezza, HMV D.B.3184 (Mat. No. CR2143Δ) 4:39
Acoustic recordings made in USA and England
14. Act 4: Farewell, my son. Orch. cond. Josef Pasternack (USA, Camden, 01/30/1922), Victrola 6455A (Mat. No. 26101-1) 4:24
15. Act 4: Death of boris... The Bell! The passing bell! Chorus & orch. cond. Eugene Goossens (England, Hayes, 02/07/1923), Victrola 6455B (Mat. No. Cc3197) 4:08
Acoustic recordings made in Imperial Russia
16. Act 4: Farewell, my son. Orch. (Saint Petersburg, 15/10/1911), Gramophone 022222 (Mat. No. 2492½) 4:24
17. Act 4: Death of boris... The Bell! The passing bell! Chorus & orch... (Saint Petersburg, 15/10/1911), Gramophone 022223 (Mat. No. 2493c) 4:13
Total time: 74:17
FEODOR CHALIAPIN
The Four Deaths of Boris
Scenes from the opera “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky
This program includes nearly all existing recordings of Chaliapin singing Boris’s part from the opera “Boris Godunov”. The program opens up with the WITH oronation scene from the Prologue, which includes Boris's monologue “I am oppressed”.
It followed by well known recordings of Boris's monologues and other scenes from the opera made in different times. The recordings are combined in four groups. Each group corresponds to the certain period in the artist's life. The culmination of each group is the scene of the death of Boris.
The first group is composed of the recordings made between 1926 and 1931, which many consider classical ones.
The second group of records consists of the scenes from the 2 nd and the 4 th acts made during live performance of “Boris Godunov” on July 4 th 1928 in Covent Garden Theater. Since the singers were too far from the microphones and the audience was noisy these recordings turned out to be “def” and most of them were considered defective. Only four records were finally released and we included them in full in this program.
The next group of recordings includes “Farewell, my son” and “The Death of Boris”. These records Chaliapin made right after he left Russia for good.
In the final part of this program we acquaint our listeners with the earliest recordings of “Farewell, my son” and “The Death of Boris” made in 1911 when Feodor Chaliapin was still living in Imperial Russia. He was at his best then and these just are the recordings that reproduce the beauty and fantastic power of Chaliapin's voice. It just is this voice that according to the legend broke lustres to pieces and made mirrors burst.
Historical recordings recovered by using (AML +) technology bring musical performance to the listeners exactly as it was imprinted on gramophone discs many years ago. This has become only possible because new technology uses analogue re-mastering process instead of digital one. This means computer has not processed that musical signal extracted from old record.
Boris Godunov (1552-1605) was a native of the Kostroma untitled boyars. He became a prominent figure in Moscow after his marriage to the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov, the favorite of Ivan the Terrible. Boris was characterized by his contemporaries as an intelligent, educated politician and talented military leader. He headed the government for 13 years during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. Fedor himself was married to Godunov's sister. This in no small measure contributed to the ascension of Boris to the throne after the death of Fedor on January 7, 1598.
The reign of the new autocrat lasted until April 13, 1605, and the death of Boris Godunov marked the beginning of an aggravation of the political situation on Russian soil. We can say that after this Time of Troubles(1598-1613) passed from passive phase to active.
With the death of Tsar Fyodor, the question arose - who to put on the throne? And then Patriarch Job pointed to Boris, describing him as the most worthy man. Godunov refused 2 times, but the clergy and people begged, and he agreed. Accepting the blessing of the patriarch, he said: "God is the witness that there will be no beggars in my kingdom, I will share the last shirt with the people ..."
In the first years of his reign, the tsar established benefits for immigrants to Siberia. He invited foreign specialists to the Moscow kingdom, and sent young people to study abroad. In Moscow, he started a grandiose construction, giving the poor people an opportunity to earn money. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower was built in the Moscow Kremlin. This building became the tallest in the country.
The king planned to open schools with the teaching of foreign languages. He thought about the economic development of Russia, and for this it was necessary to establish contacts with abroad, but there was not enough translators and educated people. However, this plan and many others were thwarted by ill-wishers. There were a lot of dissatisfied with the new policy.
Boris Godunov's authority was undermined by the unprecedented famine of 1601-1603. The reason for it was a poor harvest, and the price of bread jumped 100 times. This difficult situation turned all sections of the population against the tsar. By order of the autocrat, they began to distribute money and bread to the starving people in Moscow. This led to the fact that hundreds of thousands of people from all over Russia flocked to the capital.
Soon there were several times more of them in Moscow than the indigenous inhabitants. Such an influx of newcomers led to robberies, murders and epidemics. And there was more and more lack of money and bread. Cases of cannibalism have appeared.
The number of deaths in Moscow for the period from 1601 to 1603 was reported by the famous church and political figure Avraamy Palitsyn. He argued that only in the capital of the Muscovy in 2 years and 4 months, 127 thousand people were buried at the behest of the tsar. But many more people died in other cities and villages.
The state of affairs in the Muscovy was aggravated by the tense foreign policy situation. The Polish lords decided to take advantage of the unfavorable economic situation on Russian soil. They pushed False Dmitry I into the political arena. It was announced that he is the son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry, who officially died at the age of 8.
Adventurers of all stripes gathered around the impostor, and this army invaded the territory of the Russian state. In 1604, the army of False Dmitry forced the Dnieper and moved deep into Russia. The people welcomed the impostor, as they identified the reign of Boris Godunov with the reign of Ivan the Terrible and the oprichnina. But the king resisted the invaders and achieved short-term success, which could not turn the tide. The impostor's troops moved on Moscow.
According to the chronicle, the death of Boris Godunov occurred on April 13, 1605. On the morning of that day, the king woke up in a good mood. He dined and climbed the tower from which he loved to admire Moscow. When I left her, he announced that he felt bad. He developed a headache, ringing in the ears, nausea, pain in the stomach. They called a doctor, but when he appeared, the king's nose and ears gushed blood, and the autocrat died.
On this occasion, the Russian historian and archaeologist Ivan Yegorovich Zabelin (1820-1908) in the "History of the City of Moscow", expressed as follows: "Treason to the Tsar was spreading everywhere every day. All his good deeds to the people and kind cares disappeared from the memory of people. Only hatred for the ruler remained ... Tsar Boris, having dined, suddenly fell ill and died 2 hours later. They said that he had poisoned himself. But it can be assumed that he was poisoned by the pretenders of the impostor, if he did not die with apoplexy, as Margeret testifies. However, according to the testimony of Massa, a doctor who was at the court, everyone learned that he died of poison. "
Some contemporaries openly blamed the followers of False Dmitry for the death of Boris Godunov, who flooded Moscow in large numbers. And the deceased sovereign was buried without royal honors in the Archangel Cathedral. Boris's son, Tsarevich Fyodor, became the new tsar. He was a very intelligent and educated young man. By the age of 15, he had studied military science, fortification, mathematics, philosophy, architecture, and knew several foreign languages. Participated in the compilation geographic maps Russia.
Dmitry the Pretender, meanwhile, sent princes Vasily Mosalsky and Vasily Golitsyn to the capital at the head of his other associates. They had one goal - to remove unwanted people. The first on this list were the patriarch Job, Tsar Fedor and his relatives.
The traitors fulfilled their task successfully. They dealt with the supporters of the 16-year-old king quickly. Some were strangled, while others were persuaded to treason with generous promises. Fyodor himself, his mother Queen Maria Belskaya and the king's sister Princess Xenia were captured by traitors. They were put on a water cart and taken to the old Borisovsky yard.
The archers, led by the princes Mosalsky and Golitsyn, strangled Fyodor and Maria, and handed Xenia to False Dmitry. At his direction she was tonsured into a nun. And the people, who until quite recently worshiped Godunov, now rejoiced. Only one holy fool shouted: “Look at each other! Until this day, you were secret beasts, but now you have become obvious beasts. Of all of you in 6 years, only one will walk on the earth, and even then not for long! "
False Dmitry I on June 20, 1605, with the general rejoicing of the people, solemnly entered Moscow. He immediately ordered the body of Godunov to be taken out of the Archangel Cathedral and, together with the ashes of his son and wife, to be buried in the Varsonofievsky monastery, which is near the Lubyanka.
Under Vasily Shuisky, the remains of Boris, his wife Maria and Fedor were transferred to the Trinity Monastery near Moscow. Ksenia (in monasticism Olga), who died in 1622, was also buried there. In 1782, a tomb was built over the tombs.
During the Soviet era, the burial was plundered, and the skulls fell into complete disrepair. When in 1945 the anthropologist M.M. Gerasimov wanted to restore the faces of this family, he could not do it. So the death of Boris Godunov erased from the memory of people not only his good deeds, but also his appearance, leaving only descriptions of his contemporaries about him.
Alexey Starikov
The king himself quickly degraded both physically and mentally. In many ways, he now resembled Grozny with his oprichnina. Everyone, with bewilderment and harsh condemnation, wrote about the torment, torture and execution of innocent people with whom Boris darkened last months own life. On April 13, 1605, he died of an apoplectic stroke, having managed, however, to perform the monastic tonsure. The version spread among the people that he died, having poisoned himself with poison.
Boris Godunov managed to draw up a will, which assumed that his sixteen-year-old son Fyodor Borisovich Godunov (1589 - 1605) would inherit him. Three days after the death of Boris, Fedor, apparently on the initiative of Job, was proclaimed tsar at an urgently convened kind of Zemsky Sobor. But the real power very soon left the Godunovs: the young man had neither experience nor any sufficient military forces.
The death of Boris prompted the boyars to seize more power and the benefits associated with it, as well as to close the zemstvo channels for electing the tsar. The Moscow boyars began to go over to the side of False Dmitry. False Dmitry took advantage of this circumstance. He formed the Boyar Duma from representatives of the Moscow nobility who had gone over to his side and began to look for ways to come to terms with the Moscow boyars, who had recently served Tsar Boris.
The impostor, who had suffered more than one defeat in open battle, was now cautious and left Putivl only on May 16, a few weeks after the mutiny in the army that was besieging Kromy. On May 19, he arrived in Kromy, where by this time there were no troops left. Under the Eagle, False Dmitry arranged a trial over the voivods, who were delivered to him by the insurgent Cossacks and peasants, or who were captured, but refused to swear allegiance to him. They were all imprisoned in dungeons.
Then False Dmitry moved towards Tula and from the settlement of Krapivna on the 20th of May sent G.G. Pushkin, a letter with an appeal to the Moscow Duma and other high officials. In literacy, he, exaggerating his successes, wrote that the whole south and the whole province in general had already been "finished off with a brow." He also demanded obedience from Muscovites. On May 31, a few versts from Moscow, the ataman Korela camped. The Moscow boyars were more frightened not by the fact that he was the most fighting force of False Dmitry, but by his belonging to the Cossacks. The boyars also heard about how Korela knew how to raise the "rabble", directing it against the Moscow governors. And it was precisely the possibility of an uprising of the dispossessed that most of all frightened the boyars.
The mutiny in Moscow took place the next day - June 1. Isaac Massa reports that on the morning of June 1, two messengers of False Dmitry entered the city, which "was truly a daring undertaking." Korela, apparently, on the night of May 31 to June 1, made a maneuver, cutting off the road leading from Moscow to the northern and northwestern regions of the country. Along this road, that is, from the camp of Korely, Pushkin and Pleshcheev entered Moscow without hindrance, and were accompanied by the inhabitants of Krasnoye Selo, where Korela stayed, and where he had already carried out "explanatory" work. One of the arguments in this "explanation" was the letter of False Dmitry, in which he threatened to execute everyone who did not confess, up to the children in the womb. Pushkin and Pleshcheev with the "Krasnoselskie muzhiks" easily overcame three rows of guarded fortifications. On the streets of the capital, "many people stuck to them." Apparently, they were accompanied as a kind of guard by the Korela Cossacks. Probably also the participation of Moscow officials, who were still under Kromy, were ready to swear allegiance to False Dmitry.
The emissaries were escorted to Red Square, and on the way to it they dispersed the Moscow guards. At 9 o'clock in the morning, Pushkin and Pleshcheev ascended the Execution Ground in the middle of Red Square. Supporters of False Dmitry, as well as the Cossacks and the Krasnoseltsy themselves, tried to fill the square with people. Basically, these were the social lower classes, but the service people also stuck to the "rabble". Gabriel Pushkin addressed the audience, and then read out the message of the "true king."
At the same time, together with the late Boris Godunov, the impostor branded Maria Grigorievna and her son Fyodor Borisovich Godunov. He accused Maria Grigorievna and her son Fyodor of the fact that "they do not regret our land, and they did not feel sorry for them, because they owned someone else's." Fyodor was blamed for the devastation of the Seversk land, although it was ruined by the impostor's mercenaries and Russian commanders with approximately equal zeal during Boris's life. At the same time, False Dmitry justified the boyars, since he was extremely interested in their support - they were announced full forgiveness. The crowd, as often happened in Russia, listened to the accusations, perceiving them not so much with reason as with vague hopes of the possibility of some improvement under the new government. The new "sovereign" was greeted with a cry: "God grant that the true sun would rise over Russia again!"
Confusion reigned in the Kremlin, where the highest officials of the state and the Boyar Duma had gathered. It was easy to prepare the Kremlin for defense and thus turn the tide. But, either the young Tsar Fyodor hesitated, or the boyars, among whom there were too many enemies of the Godunovs, did not allow him to do this. Bogdan Belsky, who had recently returned from exile, developed especially active anti-Godunov activity.
The crowd gathered in the square demanded to answer all the boyars, and first of all, of course, the Godunovs. And now, no longer paying attention to the tsar's objections, the boyars, one after another, began to go to the square: some out of a desire to take revenge on the Godunovs, others out of fear that they would be taken to the Execution Ground by force. The boyars persuaded the crowd to disperse, promising to sort out the requests of the common people. And in the meantime, apparently, the Korela Cossacks broke the prison doors and released both the Godunovs' enemies imprisoned there, and just criminals. It was they who, appearing on Red Square, aroused in the crowd the desire to deal with the Godunovs, and simply rob, since such an opportunity presented itself. Cossacks Korela and those freed from prisons who joined them, as well as from the crowd gathered in the square, "and from the nobles were with them", burst into the Kremlin, where "the sovereign's mansions and tsaritsins were robbed." Meanwhile, another part of the crowd rushed to plunder the courtyards of the Godunovs. At the same time, they robbed the courtyards of other boyars, nobles and clerks. Patriarch Job tried to stop the crowd, but could not achieve anything, and soon he was sent into exile.
Patriarch Job was dealt with by the same boyars who were the murderers of Tsar Fyodor Borisovich and his mother. Boyar Basmanov took the patriarch by force to the Assumption Cathedral and there he was cursed in front of all the people, called Judas, branded for supporting Boris Godunov, who fought with the born Tsar Dmitry. The guards tore off the patriarch's dress and threw a "black dress" over him. Jonah was imprisoned in the Dormition Monastery in Staritsa, where he was once the abbot.
Now the way to Moscow was open to the impostor. Already in Serpukhov, the tsar's carriages and 200 horses from the tsar's Konyushenny yard, taken from the Godunovs, awaited him. False Dmitry moved further towards Moscow. On the way to Kolomenskoye, they brought him a tsarist dress sewn for him with all the "tsarist rank". The impostor stopped in Kolomenskoye, and spent several days there, fearing to enter Moscow. Many issues in relations with the Boyar Duma were not resolved. The reorganization of the Duma itself was limited to the expulsion of the Godunovs and the inclusion in its composition of several representatives of the nobility, who initially served the impostor.
Recently, information appeared in the media that Boris Notkin had died. The cause of death was not disclosed for a long time, as an investigation was carried out and the circumstances were clarified. Today, after a long time has passed, the picture of what happened is clear. It turned out that this was not a murder. What happened on November 11, 2017 at the journalist's house?
What happened to Boris Notkin?
That evening, a call was received at the control panel of the Odintsovo police station officer. The woman said that she found her husband's corpse at home with a gunshot wound to the head. Arriving at the call, the staff identified the famous TV presenter.
A rifle lay next to the body. Boris bought it recently, as his wife said, saying that it was for self-defense. Until the circumstances of the case were fully disclosed, there were numerous rumors among fans and colleagues. People were discussing who could have committed such a daring crime? Of course, he was associated with professional activities.
But the truth soon became clear. The investigation is over and announced main version of what happened... Boris Isaevich committed suicide, as stated in the found note. The text was written in his handwriting, which was confirmed by the examination, and there was no need to doubt the authenticity of the document.
Is Boris Notkin hospitalized?
It turns out the journalist was terminally ill... In the spring of 2017, the first signs of illness appeared. He felt unwell, weakness appeared and he was constantly tormented by dizziness. It was decided to go for an examination. The diagnosis sounded like a verdict. Doctors have identified an inoperable brain cancer stage 4... It was useless to fight the disease, medicine could only offer drugs that alleviate the condition.
The TV presenter did not talk about what had happened, even to colleagues at work, he continued to write that not everything is so bad, I continue to work. Then he told his wife that he wanted to get a weapon license. After that, the very gun that the investigators found at the place of death was bought.
In addition to the weapon, there was a note nearby. In it, Boris said that he was dying voluntarily, since he could not endure the torment associated with the disease.
It was not only physical suffering, but also moral. He was always an active person, used to work, move, communicate. The disease broke him, life no longer made sense. Thus, all rumors about the murder were dispelled.
Brief biography of the presenter
The Russian journalist was born in a difficult time for the country - in 1942. But despite this, his parents - Jews, gave their son education great importance... At school, the boy studied well, even then he was a sociable person, he always knew how to find mutual language with teachers and peers.
Then he entered the Institute of Foreign Languages, as they were always easy for him. For 20 years he worked at Moscow State University, taught psycholinguistics there.
Once Boris was invited as a guest to one of the programs of the Moscow channel. A week later, he again appeared on the air, but as a presenter. Thus began a career on television:
- 1990 - 1997 - presents the program " Facing the city»;
- At the same time, the program “ Boris Notkin invites», Which was a huge success and was released until 2015.
The last project was created by our hero. He always chose the guests for the broadcast himself. Often these were high-ranking politicians and even the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov. Talking to him, Boris voiced the problems of famous artists who still do not live in the best conditions, despite the fact that they have state awards, and the recognition of millions of viewers. This program was remembered by many, since a week later another was shown, where T. Dogileva receives keys to new housing.
In addition to television, there was work in newspapers. His articles were regularly published by Moskovsky Komsomolets.
Personal life of Notkin
Notkin got married late, but once and for life. " I am a mother's son", - the journalist once admitted. " Even though I have a brother, my mother’s love was enough for two. We got so used to her image that all the girls were compared to her.", - he said. In addition, the father left the family early, and the man believed for a long time that marriage only spoils relations between people.
There was a period when Boris was credited with unconventional sexual relations... This stems from one Italian director who did not hide his attraction to men. Notkin worked for him, translated and dubbed the film. Zefirelli repeatedly offered the journalist to meet, but he was always refused. This story was told by Boris himself. He shared it with one of the media representatives, but then he was very worried, as a couple of "hot" articles were immediately written about what was happening. First of all, an uncomfortable situation turned out with the director, about whom unscrupulous newspapers and magazines began to "trumpet" the whole world.
But soon the rumors came to an end, the TV presenter got married. Irina Stolyarova, a specialist in the field of energy, became his chosen one. After the couple formalized the relationship, Irina left work and became involved in the household. She was the first friend, critic and spectator.
There were no children in the family, and Irina spent all the time next to her husband. It was she who found her husband dead and called the police that evening.
What is the host remembered by viewers
Boris Isaevich Notkin is, first of all, the permanent face of the TV Center channel. His contribution to journalism is enormous. He was the first to try to shape the social thinking of the Russian people in his programs. But at the same time, being between politics and the people, he was able to remain the most conflict-free and the most diplomatic journalist.
He tried to pave a path between the state and the people, to convey to the "top" about the problems of the population and the country as a whole. He did it so skillfully and tactfully that he earned the respect of all parties. His programs never turned into a show, they rather had an introductory, educational character. At the same time, the essence of the problem has always remained on the surface.
But unfortunately, Boris could not survive the personal drama. He was 75 years old when life ended. Nobody expected such a decision. Even the spouse, who was always nearby, did not know about the thoughts of her husband.
For many, the incident came as a shock. There is still talk that the suicide was rigged and for some reason the real circumstances are hidden. Fans and loved ones can only accept that a good man and a professional in his field, Boris Notkin, died. The cause of death will be discussed for a long time by those who benefit from it.
Video about the death of a journalist
In this issue, Anton Novikov will tell you what versions were considered after Notkin's death, what was in his suicide note:
A message appeared on the network that the famous TV presenter Boris Notkin had died. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. At the same time, the authorities do not specify the name of the person who was found shot to death in the suburbs. According to the statement of the representative of the regional head of the Investigative Committee Yevgeny Kiryushin, the body of a man born in 1942 was found in a residential building.
A pre-trial investigation is underway into the fact of the gunshot wound. As it became known from unofficial sources, the presenter could have committed suicide, since recently doctors discovered he had a cancer of the 4th stage of development. The body of Boris Notkin was discovered by his wife, who had come to visit him at his dacha, in the village of Rozhdestvenskoye. Nearby lay a hunting rifle that belonged to the deceased.
A suicide note was also found, which explained the cause of the TV presenter's death - Boris Notkin decided to die immediately, and not leave for a long and painful time.
As the wife of the deceased said, the disease made itself felt in May 2017. Notkin felt unusual bouts of weakness and dizziness. He was admitted to the hospital, hoping to begin appropriate treatment after the examination. However, the results of tests and MRI confirmed the terrible diagnosis - oncology penetrated too deeply into the host's body, the stage of the disease turned out to be inoperable and incurable.
Brief biography of the famous TV presenter
Boris Notkin was born on August 13, 1942 in Moscow. After graduating from the institute, he worked for a long time as a simultaneous translator - any, the most successful journalist can envy the list of his "clients". On the advice of his teacher, he resigned from the work of a writer dealing with fiction- despite encyclopedic knowledge and perfect possession foreign languages, had no talent for literary work.
After many years of working in the government, translating information for presidents (Boris Notkin worked with both Reagan and Yeltsin), he was invited to the “Good evening, Moscow!” Program as a guest. The conversation turned out to be so interesting and the channel's management liked it so much that the next day the man was invited to permanent cooperation as a permanent author, for a long time.
A little later, the TV presenter, whose cause of death was suicide on November 11, 2017, had the opportunity to make his own program "Boris Notkin Invites You". He died, remaining her only inspirer and censor - on television, the man was always called the most conflict-free.
At the same time, Notkin himself did not consider himself a liar or a sneak, just the quality of his upbringing allowed him to ask him questions in a very correct form, without provoking the interlocutor's aggression in response.
He was familiar with the entire political elite of Russia, which allowed Notkin to improve the living conditions for many artists in live- the presenter always invited guests of his choice to the conversation. Therefore, when Luzhkov, being the mayor of the capital, answered different questions Notkin, who, in turn, kind of casually hinted at the problems with apartments for Tatyana Dogileva and Arkady Ukupnik. This accelerated the solution of problems to the minimum time - a week later, honored artists of Russia lived in their own apartments, due to their status.
First and last wife
Boris Notkin is my mother's son, which he did not hesitate to admit in an interview with an open publication. According to the TV presenter, she so selflessly gave all of herself to him and his older brother that every girl who spoke words of recognition to Boris was involuntarily compared to her mother. In addition, the parents lived very poorly, they parted early and Boris simply did not see the model of a good marriage in his life. Gradually, this delusion dissipated, and Notkin decided to enter into family relationships at a fairly respectable age - he proposed to his wife at the age of 48.
By the way, at one time they talked about him in the journalistic environment, accusing him of being gay.
It's all the fault of the Italian director Zefirrelli, who did not hide his attraction to men. The foreigner turned out to be downright in love with the translator's voice, which dubbed his picture "Romeo and Juliet", which was released in Russia in 1987. He repeatedly tried to get to know Boris better, however, every time the presenter refused him such a relationship, referring to his love for beautiful women... In one of the interviews, Notkin mentioned this case, and journalists spread the news around the world. As it later turned out, after this incident, Notkin was terribly uncomfortable in front of the director for the incontinence of some unscrupulous journalists.
