13
13
0
On July 13, 1894, Isaac Babel, the great Russian writer, was born. From the article:
"Babel was a Russian-language journalist, playwright, literary translator, historian and Bolshevik revolutionary. He is best known as the author of Red Cavalry, Story of My Dovecote, and Tales of Odessa, all of which are considered masterpieces of Russian literature. Babel has also been acclaimed as "the greatest prose writer of Russian Jewry".
..."In 1920 Babel was assigned to Komandarm (Army Commander) Semyon Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army, witnessing a military campaign of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920. Poland was not alone in its newfound opportunities and troubles. Virtually all of the newly independent neighbours began fighting over borders: Romania fought with Hungary over Transylvania, Yugoslavia with Italy over Rijeka, and Poland with Czechoslovakia over Cieszyn Silesia, with Germany over Poznań, and with Ukrainians over Eastern Galicia (Galician War). He documented the horrors of the war he witnessed in the 1920 Diary (Конармейский Дневник 1920 года, Konarmeyskiy Dnevnik 1920 Goda), which he later used to write Red Cavalry (Конармия, Konarmiya), a collection of short stories such as "Crossing the River Zbrucz" and "My First Goose". The horrific violence of Red Cavalry seemed to harshly contrast the gentle nature of Babel himself.
Babel wrote: "Only by 1923 I have learned how to express my thoughts in a clear and not very lengthy way. Then I returned to writing." Several stories that were later included in Red Cavalry were published in Vladimir Mayakovsky's LEF ("ЛЕФ") magazine in 1924. Babel's honest description of the brutal realities of war, far from revolutionary propaganda, earned him some powerful enemies. According to recent research, Marshal Budyonny was infuriated by Babel's unvarnished descriptions of marauding Red Cossacks and demanded Babel's execution without success.[8] However, Gorky's influence not only protected Babel but also helped to guarantee publication. In 1929 Red Cavalry was translated into English by J. Harland and later was translated into a number of other languages.[9]
Argentine author and essayist Jorge Luis Borges once wrote of Red Cavalry,
The music of its style contrasts with the almost ineffable brutality of certain scenes. One of the stories, -- "Salt" -- enjoys a glory seemingly reserved for poems and rarely attained by prose: many people know it by heart."
"Babel was a Russian-language journalist, playwright, literary translator, historian and Bolshevik revolutionary. He is best known as the author of Red Cavalry, Story of My Dovecote, and Tales of Odessa, all of which are considered masterpieces of Russian literature. Babel has also been acclaimed as "the greatest prose writer of Russian Jewry".
..."In 1920 Babel was assigned to Komandarm (Army Commander) Semyon Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army, witnessing a military campaign of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920. Poland was not alone in its newfound opportunities and troubles. Virtually all of the newly independent neighbours began fighting over borders: Romania fought with Hungary over Transylvania, Yugoslavia with Italy over Rijeka, and Poland with Czechoslovakia over Cieszyn Silesia, with Germany over Poznań, and with Ukrainians over Eastern Galicia (Galician War). He documented the horrors of the war he witnessed in the 1920 Diary (Конармейский Дневник 1920 года, Konarmeyskiy Dnevnik 1920 Goda), which he later used to write Red Cavalry (Конармия, Konarmiya), a collection of short stories such as "Crossing the River Zbrucz" and "My First Goose". The horrific violence of Red Cavalry seemed to harshly contrast the gentle nature of Babel himself.
Babel wrote: "Only by 1923 I have learned how to express my thoughts in a clear and not very lengthy way. Then I returned to writing." Several stories that were later included in Red Cavalry were published in Vladimir Mayakovsky's LEF ("ЛЕФ") magazine in 1924. Babel's honest description of the brutal realities of war, far from revolutionary propaganda, earned him some powerful enemies. According to recent research, Marshal Budyonny was infuriated by Babel's unvarnished descriptions of marauding Red Cossacks and demanded Babel's execution without success.[8] However, Gorky's influence not only protected Babel but also helped to guarantee publication. In 1929 Red Cavalry was translated into English by J. Harland and later was translated into a number of other languages.[9]
Argentine author and essayist Jorge Luis Borges once wrote of Red Cavalry,
The music of its style contrasts with the almost ineffable brutality of certain scenes. One of the stories, -- "Salt" -- enjoys a glory seemingly reserved for poems and rarely attained by prose: many people know it by heart."
Isaac Babel - Wikipedia
Posted from en.m.wikipedia.org
World History
Literature
Writer
Russia
Murder
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
9
9
0
A Short Documentary on Isaac Babel's Red Cavalry
Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that July 13 is the anniversary of the birth of Russian-language journalist, playwright, literary translator, historian and Bolshevik revolutionary Isaac Babel.
Background from biography.com/people/isaak-babel-40217
"Isaak Babel Biography, Playwright, Author (1894–1940)
Jewish-Ukrainian Isaak Babel, whose tales of the Russian army and ghetto life made him a famous author in the 1920s, was discredited by the Soviet authorities and put to death in 1940.
Synopsis
Isaak Emmanuilovoch Babel was born to a Jewish, middle-class family on July 13, 1894, in Odessa, Ukraine. After attending school and college and then serving in the Russian army, he became known as a writer. His early pieces in magazines and newspapers were followed by his short-story collections Red Cavalry and Odessa Tales. Despite initially earning praise for his realism and his gritty subjects, Babel was later censored by the Soviet authorities and was executed by Stalin's police forces in 1940.
Early Life and Education
Isaak Emmanuilovoch Babel was born on July 13, 1894, in Odessa, Ukraine, a port city located on the Black Sea. His parents, Manus Yitzkhovich and Feyga Bobel (the original spelling of their last name), were Jewish, and they raised Isaak and his sister in a middle-class household.
Soon after his birth, Isaak Babel's family moved to Nikolaev, a port city located about 100 miles away from Odessa. There, his father worked for an overseas agricultural-equipment manufacturer, and Babel, once he reached school age, attended the Count Witte Commercial School. The family returned to Odessa in 1905, and Babel was educated by private tutors until he began attending the Nicholas I Odessa Commercial School No. 1. He graduated from the school in 1911 and went on to study economics at the Kiev Commercial Insititute (which was relocated to Saratov in 1915, during the First World War). Babel graduated from the institute in 1916, afterward briefly studying law at the Petrograd Psycho-Neurological Institute.
Published Writings and Wartime Service
Babel met and befriended writer Maxim Gorky in 1916, and their friendship would become a major force in Babel's life. Gorky began to include Babel's short stories in a journal that he edited, The Chronicle. Thanks to this exposure, Babel was invited to contribute his fiction writing and reporting to other journals as well as to the newspaper New Life. Meanwhile, Babel joined the cavalry of the Russian army in 1917, serving at the Rumanian front and in Petrograd. He was active with the army for several years, during which time he wrote pieces about his military experiences for New Life.
In 1919, Babel married Evgenia (also spelled Yevgenia and Eugenia) Gronfein, the daughter of a wealthy agricultural-equipment importer, whom he'd met in Kiev. After his time in the army, he worked for newspapers and dedicated more time to his writing. He published The Story of My Dovecote, a volume of short stories inspired by his own childhood, in 1925. He achieved literary fame with Red Cavalry, published in 1926. This collection of stories, inspired by his experiences in the Soviet-Polish War of 1920, shocked its readers with its tales of brutality and impressed them with its direct language and humor, even in the face of violence.
Acclaim and Isolation in the 1930s
In 1931, Babel published Odessa Tales, a cycle of short stories set in a ghetto of Odessa. Once again, he was praised for his realism, simple writing style and skillful portrayals of characters from the fringes of society—in this case, a band of Jewish gangsters and their leader, Benya Krik. Later in the 1930s, he wrote a play titled Maria (1935) and four novellas, including "The Trial" and "The Kiss."
As the decade progressed, Babel's activities and written works were monitored closely by critics and censors for any hints of disloyalty to the Soviet government. Babel traveled frequently to France (where his estranged wife and daughter, Nathalie, lived), wrote less and spent much time in isolation during these years. His friend and greatest ally, Gorky, died in 1936.
Arrest and Death
Like many of his contemporaries, Babel was persecuted in the "great purges" conducted under Joseph Stalin in the late 1930s. He was arrested by the Soviet secret police in May 1939, at the age of 45, and was charged with belonging to anti-Soviet political organizations and terrorist groups and serving as a spy for France and Austria. (His affair with Evgeniya Gladun-Khayutina, the wife of the head of the secret police, was likely a contributing factor to his arrest.) Though Babel appealed the charges and tried to revoke the testimony he'd given under torture, he was executed on January 27, 1940.
After Stalin's death in 1953, Babel's name was cleared and his writing was rehabilitated. His work was gradually published again in the Soviet Union and even in foreign countries. He continues to influence short-story writers around the world."
A Short Documentary on Isaac Babel's Red Cavalry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogbY2p9jb2o
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt (Join to see) SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert George SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SPC (Join to see) SPC Margaret Higgins Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM SGT Gregory Lawritson
Background from biography.com/people/isaak-babel-40217
"Isaak Babel Biography, Playwright, Author (1894–1940)
Jewish-Ukrainian Isaak Babel, whose tales of the Russian army and ghetto life made him a famous author in the 1920s, was discredited by the Soviet authorities and put to death in 1940.
Synopsis
Isaak Emmanuilovoch Babel was born to a Jewish, middle-class family on July 13, 1894, in Odessa, Ukraine. After attending school and college and then serving in the Russian army, he became known as a writer. His early pieces in magazines and newspapers were followed by his short-story collections Red Cavalry and Odessa Tales. Despite initially earning praise for his realism and his gritty subjects, Babel was later censored by the Soviet authorities and was executed by Stalin's police forces in 1940.
Early Life and Education
Isaak Emmanuilovoch Babel was born on July 13, 1894, in Odessa, Ukraine, a port city located on the Black Sea. His parents, Manus Yitzkhovich and Feyga Bobel (the original spelling of their last name), were Jewish, and they raised Isaak and his sister in a middle-class household.
Soon after his birth, Isaak Babel's family moved to Nikolaev, a port city located about 100 miles away from Odessa. There, his father worked for an overseas agricultural-equipment manufacturer, and Babel, once he reached school age, attended the Count Witte Commercial School. The family returned to Odessa in 1905, and Babel was educated by private tutors until he began attending the Nicholas I Odessa Commercial School No. 1. He graduated from the school in 1911 and went on to study economics at the Kiev Commercial Insititute (which was relocated to Saratov in 1915, during the First World War). Babel graduated from the institute in 1916, afterward briefly studying law at the Petrograd Psycho-Neurological Institute.
Published Writings and Wartime Service
Babel met and befriended writer Maxim Gorky in 1916, and their friendship would become a major force in Babel's life. Gorky began to include Babel's short stories in a journal that he edited, The Chronicle. Thanks to this exposure, Babel was invited to contribute his fiction writing and reporting to other journals as well as to the newspaper New Life. Meanwhile, Babel joined the cavalry of the Russian army in 1917, serving at the Rumanian front and in Petrograd. He was active with the army for several years, during which time he wrote pieces about his military experiences for New Life.
In 1919, Babel married Evgenia (also spelled Yevgenia and Eugenia) Gronfein, the daughter of a wealthy agricultural-equipment importer, whom he'd met in Kiev. After his time in the army, he worked for newspapers and dedicated more time to his writing. He published The Story of My Dovecote, a volume of short stories inspired by his own childhood, in 1925. He achieved literary fame with Red Cavalry, published in 1926. This collection of stories, inspired by his experiences in the Soviet-Polish War of 1920, shocked its readers with its tales of brutality and impressed them with its direct language and humor, even in the face of violence.
Acclaim and Isolation in the 1930s
In 1931, Babel published Odessa Tales, a cycle of short stories set in a ghetto of Odessa. Once again, he was praised for his realism, simple writing style and skillful portrayals of characters from the fringes of society—in this case, a band of Jewish gangsters and their leader, Benya Krik. Later in the 1930s, he wrote a play titled Maria (1935) and four novellas, including "The Trial" and "The Kiss."
As the decade progressed, Babel's activities and written works were monitored closely by critics and censors for any hints of disloyalty to the Soviet government. Babel traveled frequently to France (where his estranged wife and daughter, Nathalie, lived), wrote less and spent much time in isolation during these years. His friend and greatest ally, Gorky, died in 1936.
Arrest and Death
Like many of his contemporaries, Babel was persecuted in the "great purges" conducted under Joseph Stalin in the late 1930s. He was arrested by the Soviet secret police in May 1939, at the age of 45, and was charged with belonging to anti-Soviet political organizations and terrorist groups and serving as a spy for France and Austria. (His affair with Evgeniya Gladun-Khayutina, the wife of the head of the secret police, was likely a contributing factor to his arrest.) Though Babel appealed the charges and tried to revoke the testimony he'd given under torture, he was executed on January 27, 1940.
After Stalin's death in 1953, Babel's name was cleared and his writing was rehabilitated. His work was gradually published again in the Soviet Union and even in foreign countries. He continues to influence short-story writers around the world."
A Short Documentary on Isaac Babel's Red Cavalry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogbY2p9jb2o
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt (Join to see) SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert George SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SPC (Join to see) SPC Margaret Higgins Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM SGT Gregory Lawritson
(9)
(0)
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
Running way behind due to internet outage yesterday, great additional info.
(2)
(0)
LTC Stephen F.
I hope your connection is maintained Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen -We lost power a day or so ago.
(1)
(0)
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
Some contractor severed a main cable that services several ICPs so don't think there will be anything like that in a while. Was interesting seeing all the businesses that had to shut down because of no internet though. We have truly become reliant on the internet.
(1)
(0)
7
7
0
He wrote prior to the 1917 Revolution and his writings were not held in favor because of his descriptions of life in Russia. He wrote in a mix of Russian and Yiddish.
(7)
(0)
SGT (Join to see)
I started reading Russian literature in high school in the mid-seventies. I have read Babel again and again in translation for more than forty years. Lt Col Charlie Brown SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth SPC Douglas Bolton
(2)
(0)
4
4
0
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google