From: sergei@upenn5.hep.upenn.edu (Sergei Borodin)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: On Bulgakov's antisemitism
Date: 10 Sep 92 23:31:57 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania



RUBAN@hartford.bitnet ("Timur Y. Ruban") writes

>>From:         Sergei Borodin <sergei@UPENN5.HEP.UPENN.EDU>

>> Remember "Sobachje Serdtse"?  It might be questionable, but I beleive
>>that Shvonder was a Jew. Last name sounds Jewish and he was described
>>as black haired.

>So? Are you trying to suggest that there is no black haired non-Jews?

 No. Just reread the description. Hair was not just black, but also 
 curly. Besides the Jewish sounded last name, Shvonder has some 
 difficulties in Russian ("kto na kom stojal?-..")
 I mean his speech sounds like he came from beyond the "cherta osedlosti",
 like e.g. Odessa. 
 "- Eto kakoi-to pozor - neuverenno skazal Shvonder." 
 Such a construction wouldn't be typical to a Moskovite or
 a St. Pitersburg-er.
 
>> So, Philipp Philippovich, absolutely nice and gorgeous person said once:
>>"Ja by etogo Shvondera, chestnoe slovo, povesil by na pervom suku" -
>>skazal Philipp Philippovich, vgryzajas' v krylo indushki." (Quotation
>>from my  memory).

>> Isn't that a call to exterminate Jews?

>Not really, I think.  It was a call to exterminate such 'parasite' as Shvonder
>was, but not such JEW as (maybe or maybe not) Shvonder could be.
  
  It was a call to exterminate such a *Jewish* 'parasite' as Shvonder.

> Do not remember anything "Jewish" about Latunsky and definitely would not
>compare Margarita's revenge with the call to Jewish pogroms.

 As you wish. But some could. Besides, there is nothing seldom in Bulgakov's
 writings. He makes his heroes to look typical. He carefully choses their
 names and also makes some small remarks about their look. I beleive there is
 something about Latunsky's long nose. (Upon request)

>  About Berlioz.  Do you really think that he was killed because he was a Jew
>(which he actually was not)?

 For sure. 

> Therefore, it will be very difficult for me
>to see any evidence of anti-semitism in Bulgakov's works.

  -Etrus, Aleksandr Abramovich, is komiteta...
  ...
  ...
  -Ja etogo Etrusa poveshu von na toj lipe - beloj rukoj knjaz' pokazal
   v okno -...
   "Hanskaja stavka", Bulgakov. (Quoted from memory).
   
 You see? Besides, Bulgakov shows that a Jew Etrus now in the committee.
 Don't you see he's trying to imply that the revolution was made by Jews?
 Shvonder also in a some sense is a leader. Bulgakov shows that all leader
 positions at all levels are occupied by Jews.

>Ecentually,
>what is happening now, is that you are trying, without any visible cause, to
>find anti-semitism in Bulgakov.  Why?

  Haven't I found yet?  Why? - what do you mean "why"? Shouldn't we see
  the truth?  Besides, it was not me who started to divide writers on
  "semite"-"antisemite".

> Especially, after all you just said - I still do not see any facts.

  You just don't want to see the facts!!!

>Even more, here are my facts:

>he writes how he and all his friends (including Bulgakov, who was little bit
>younger) were protecting Jews during Pogroms in Kiev.

  You may protect individuals but still hate the nation as a whole. Don't
  remember who wrote it here, he said that many antisemites had a few
  Jewish friends.
  
>Look closer at some of the discussions between Jeshua and Prokurator.  You can
>see Bulgakov in there.  And then think - can a person who wrote that be anti-
>semit or anty-other-kinds-of-other-humans?

   What do you think about Dostoevsky? He definetely was
  a humanist and at the same time an antisemite. BTW, his writings were
  prohibited from 1917 to somewhere in '50th. And his especially antisemitic
  volume 25 for the first time after 1917 was published somewhen in '84-86.
  In the blossom of Russian antisemitism.
  What about a humanist and an antisemite Solzhenitsyn? As Misha Verbitsky
  correctly pointed out: 
  " When on the scene appears Jew, Solzhenitsyn clearly explains (like
  in the case on Nathan Frenkel) that this Jew did not love Russia
  and was a foreign element there. The conclusion in subtext:
  Jews made revolution in Russia because they were foreign to
  Russian soil etc."
  
   So... 
 
>Tima.

>               "Net hudshego poroka... chem trusost"
>                                  from Levij's notes taken after Jeshua
>                                  "Master and Margarita"
  
  In fact, that was said by Joshua to Pilat. When Pilat took the notes
 from Levi he was shocked seeing it scribed there.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet