Russian matters
18 January 2026 06:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igenlodeI was absolutely astonished to discover (from reading the YouTube comments) that Episode 10 of the Let's get to know one another 1980s TV broadcast, which I had just been watching, actually features Veniamin Smekhov in the lead role of the University Professor -- completely transformed not only by the traditional method of beard and glasses, but in voice and body language as well :-D (Well, that confirms that they were putting a good deal of behind-the-scenes talent into these teaching broadcasts; unfortunately dates on the programmes in this series seem to vary from 1977 to 1981, so I don't know whether it was the serious actor in experimental theatre or the fan-idol 'noble Athos' who was being employed to voice the lead character for this little educational film. A year or two either way would have made a good deal of difference at that particular juncture!)
Since the early episodes in this series are so very elementary, after having run out of content in the other series I had jumped ahead to Episode 9, and Episode 10 is definitely a lot more advanced (especially in the Professor's rhapsodic eulogy to the glories of Kiev --bitter irony now, of course-- in the opening scene) in terms of vocabulary. Although the approach of this part of the series appears to be to have some quite complex 'normal' Russian going on in the background (in Episode 9, about television, it was the soundtrack of the TV programmes -- sports commentary, nature documentary etc. -- which were were on a level that I struggle to follow), as versus the repeated and very simple phrases that form the actual lesson content. I've only seen a couple of them, though.
Anyway, it was a fascinating glimpse into Smekhov the professional actor at work (and doing a good job with a credible script; as observed previously, whoever was making these films did take the business of being creative within the strict limitations of the format very seriously). I never cease to be impressed by stage performers' ability to perform a chameleon transformation into a different identity to order... as versus the 'stars' who are just asked to play themselves in every part :-p
(It is, however, distinctly embarrassing that I failed to recognise him so entirely that I would have missed his presence altogether if not tipped off by the comments!)
Having located a transcription of the New Year's duet I was able to correct it. Most of what I had jotted down by ear was actually pretty accurate, and I'm not embarrassed about 'mondegreens' caused by not hearing unvoiced consonants or mis-hearing verb endings: 'nas zavtra' is understandably indistinguishable from 'nazavtra', even if that sort of thing can end up reversing the meaning of a phrase. The main bit that was completely wrong was the couplet that I had studded with question marks in the first place because I couldn't really make it out...
Edit: Sheet music! (PDF)
Since the early episodes in this series are so very elementary, after having run out of content in the other series I had jumped ahead to Episode 9, and Episode 10 is definitely a lot more advanced (especially in the Professor's rhapsodic eulogy to the glories of Kiev --bitter irony now, of course-- in the opening scene) in terms of vocabulary. Although the approach of this part of the series appears to be to have some quite complex 'normal' Russian going on in the background (in Episode 9, about television, it was the soundtrack of the TV programmes -- sports commentary, nature documentary etc. -- which were were on a level that I struggle to follow), as versus the repeated and very simple phrases that form the actual lesson content. I've only seen a couple of them, though.
Anyway, it was a fascinating glimpse into Smekhov the professional actor at work (and doing a good job with a credible script; as observed previously, whoever was making these films did take the business of being creative within the strict limitations of the format very seriously). I never cease to be impressed by stage performers' ability to perform a chameleon transformation into a different identity to order... as versus the 'stars' who are just asked to play themselves in every part :-p
(It is, however, distinctly embarrassing that I failed to recognise him so entirely that I would have missed his presence altogether if not tipped off by the comments!)
Having located a transcription of the New Year's duet I was able to correct it. Most of what I had jotted down by ear was actually pretty accurate, and I'm not embarrassed about 'mondegreens' caused by not hearing unvoiced consonants or mis-hearing verb endings: 'nas zavtra' is understandably indistinguishable from 'nazavtra', even if that sort of thing can end up reversing the meaning of a phrase. The main bit that was completely wrong was the couplet that I had studded with question marks in the first place because I couldn't really make it out...
Edit: Sheet music! (PDF)