How Lieutenant Golitsyn and Cornet Obolensky became the heroes of the romance

Beginning in the sixties of the last century, interest in “White Guard” songs arose in Soviet society. The most popular was the song, which described how White Guard officers left their homeland. Oddly enough, but such compositions until the 60s simply did not exist. They gained popularity after the films “Adjutant of His Excellency”, “Elusive Avengers”, where officers of the tsar’s regiment were shown as noble, interesting people.

White Guard

In spite of the “red” propaganda, it became fashionable for Soviet people to have ancestors of blue blood, such words as axelbants, cavalry guards, gold epaulets, and appeals such as “Lord!” Were used etc.

It is curious that interest in the White Guard swept not only in Soviet intellectual circles, but also in third-wave immigrants. Singers in restaurants on Brighton Beach, instantly catching the mood in society, included songs on this topic in their own repertoire. Virtual Lieutenant Golitsyn and Cornet Obolensk became national heroes.

Since the ugly train of “sausage emigration” was stretching behind the third wave of emigration, by means of such romances they wanted to stretch the connecting bridge between themselves and the emigrants of the first wave, who had to leave their abused homeland.

Fake

Despite this, many people are still confident that the “Cornet Obolensky” romance and other “White Guard” songs were created at a time that was terrible for Russia when the brother went against his brother and people steamed ships to Turkey, France and other countries. Among other things, such romances were so contrasted with Soviet mass songs that it was impossible to imagine that they were written at the same time.

One of the researchers of the twentieth century, who studied white emigration, argued that when in the 80s the recording of this song was turned on before the emigrants of the first wave, after listening to it, after a minute pause they all began to laugh together. This confirms that the romance about Lieutenant Golitsyn and about how Cornet Obolensky “put on orders” is a fake, kitsch. Many believe that the song is a symbol of the white movement, but not everyone is aware that in any war its symbol is premature death, dirt, lice, tears, blood and so on. The version that the song was allegedly written by a white officer after the Civil War was not confirmed anywhere.

How many orders could Cornets have

In Soviet times, the “White Guard Romance” became a real hit. At first they listened to him in secret, but later, in the nineties, performed by Alexander Malinin, the song was first heard on television.

As for orders in the romance, there is one more discrepancy. Cornet Obolensky could not wear orders only because the rank of cornet was the youngest (first) in the cavalry and could receive only three orders: St. Stanislav 3 degrees, St. Anna 4 degrees and St. George 4 degrees. But the Order of St. Anne was attached to the hilt of the saber, and when awarded with St. George, the cornet was promoted. Among other things, for each order, the recipient was to pay a cash contribution, the amount of which was spent on charity. It turns out that Obolensky could wear only the Order of St. Stanislav.

Songwriter

And yet, who is the author of this romance? And in Soviet times, and at the moment, the debate about the authorship of the song does not subside. At one time, Jeanne Bichevskaya, and Mikhail Zvezdinsky, and Vladislav Kotsyshevsky, the author of many songs of the seventies and the organizer of the ensemble "Black Sea Gull", declared themselves authors. Then the poet and bard A. Galich was declared the author.

First performed the romance Arkady Severny in May 1977. The recording was made in an underground studio (apartment) of Sergey Maklakov, the patron of chanson in those years. Arkady Severny sang songs with the ensemble "Black Sea Gull". No earlier entries were found. Friends of Arkady Severny on the singer’s official website say that at that time he had difficulties with the repertoire and himself suggested that this song be included in the songbook. He had a quatrain of songs available, but the situation was corrected when Sergei Maklakov’s close friend, poet V. Romensky, agreed to Sergey’s request and added the “White Guard Romance”. Thus appeared the twentieth century hit Cornet Obolensky.

In 1984, in the film “Conspiracy Against the Land of Soviets”, a white song was performed by Arkady Severny when the white emigres were shown with a sound background.