September 11, 2020

Musician's Poetic Response to Sentencing


Musician's Poetic Response to Sentencing
Actor Mikhail Efremov and his friend musician Sergey Shnurov. Image from Shnurov's Instagram account

The leader of the musical group Leningrad, Sergey Shnurov, is known not only as a musician, but also as an “Instagram poet,” for the poems he posts to his Instagram account. Recently, he posted a poem in response to the sentencing of his friend, actor Mikhail Yefremov, who was found guilty of causing a fatal accident.

The accident occurred in the beginning of June on Moscow's Smolenskaya Square. Efremov drove into the oncoming lane and hit a delivery driver, Sergei Zakharov. Zakharov received critical injuries and later died in the hospital. Yeremov’s blood workup showed evidence of alcohol and prohibited substances. Yefremov was sentenced to eight years in a general regime colony, although his defense team has announced that it will appeal the verdict.

In response to the sentencing, Shnurov posted a poem reflecting on his long friendship with Yefremov. Shnurov noted that he and Yefremov used to drink together, but that Shnurov has since changed his ways. Otherwise, Shnurov supposes that he himself could have ended up with Yefremov on the fateful night: “I could have been with you then... But I hit the brakes.”

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955