Robert Rozhdestvensky is one of the brightest representatives of the galaxy of poets of the 50-60s of the XX century. Songs on his poems are heard in films, they are sung and are still known by heart. “Love has arrived”, “Echo of love”, “Call me, call” and many other magical works will remain in our hearts forever. Christmas is still one of the most read and beloved poets. And this is not surprising. The life of the whole country, the fate of the generation was captured in his lines by Robert Rozhdestvensky. His biography as a poet began from a very early age.
Brief curriculum vitae
June 20, 1932 Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky was born (at birth - Robert Stanislavovich Petkevich). He was born in the family of the military Stanislav Petkevich in the village of Kosiha of the West Siberian Territory. His father was a Pole. He worked at the Commissariat of Internal Affairs. From two years old, Robert lived in Omsk with his family. However, when he was six years old, his father left the family.
Robert's mother worked as a principal at a local school. But with the outbreak of war, she went to the front, and the boy remained in the care of his grandmother. And when she was gone, he ended up in an orphanage. In 1945, Robert’s mother remarried and took her son from the shelter. Her chosen one was Ivan Rozhdestvensky, an officer and fellow soldier. Subsequently, they moved to Leningrad, and a few years later - to the city of Petrozavodsk.
At the age of 19, Rozhdestvensky enters the ranks of students of the Moscow Literary Institute. Maxim Gorky. In 1955, his debut collection appeared, entitled "Flags of Spring." And a little later, Robert released his first student poem, "My Love." They are followed by new works, among them - "Coeval", "Initiation", "Voice of the city." Note that in total the poet has published about 70 poetry collections.
Rozhdestvensky was the head of the commission on the literary heritage of Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva. Note that only thanks to his efforts in the capital opened the house-museum of the great poetess. Robert Rozhdestvensky also becomes the head of the commission on the legacy of Osip Emilievich Mandelstam. Mandelstam's biography becomes the main subject of work in it. Also, it is Rozhdestvensky who composes the poetic collection of Vladimir Vysotsky "Nerve". He was the first bard to be released in the country.
On August 19, 1994, Rozhdestvensky’s life ended. The reason is myocardial infarction. The poet was buried in the Peredelkino cemetery, which is located near the famous writer village. And a few months later a collection was published in the capital entitled “The Last Poems of Robert Rozhdestvensky.”
The beginning of creativity
From an early age, Robert grew up as a talented and gifted child. The boy attended a military music school, wrote his children's poems. The first of them was published in 1941 in one of the city publications. It was called "With a rifle, my dad goes camping." By the way, Robert then sent his fee for him to the Defense Fund. While still a schoolboy, he often participated with friends in concerts for the wounded.
The main characteristics of creativity
As mentioned, the poet Robert Rozhdestvensky began to print from the 50s of the last century. He went down in the history of literature as one of the representatives of “young poetry” along with Evgeny Yevtushenko, Bella Akhmadulina, Bulat Okudzhava. Poems of Christmas are distinguished by bright freshness, sincerity, lyricism, combined with the highest civic pathos.
In the 1960s, Robert Rozhdestvensky actively collaborated with prominent composers of those years. The songs on his poems have become a true classic. They sound in cult films, including The Elusive Avengers, Seventeen Moments of Spring, and Earthly Love.
The poet’s works clearly reflect the fate of an entire generation with experiences and joys, gains and losses. Is that why Robert Rozhdestvensky is so loved? His biography is closely intertwined with the life of society. At first he is a romantic, dreaming of wanderings, adventures, love. Gradually, wisdom appears in the lines of the poet, experience is reflected.
Christmas Poems
Journalism is imbued with most of his poems. Robert Rozhdestvensky filled them with high civic pathos, moralizing, and didactics. Poems strike with their acute topicality, even youthful ones, even those that are devoted to the relationship of man and woman. Such, for example, the first of them - "My love." The poem “Requiem” became the most famous not only in Russia, but also abroad. Rozhdestvensky dedicated her memory to those who died during the Great Patriotic War.
A family
The family of Robert Rozhdestvensky has always occupied a crucial place in the life of the poet. His wife, Alla Borisovna Kireeva, worked all her life as a literary critic. In addition, she was a talented artist. Interestingly, this woman remained his only love. The poet met Alla at the institute and did not leave until the very end of his life. From this union two daughters appeared: Catherine and Ksenia. Children of Robert Rozhdestvensky live in Moscow. Without a doubt, they inherited the bright talent of their father. The elder has become a talented photo artist, and is also engaged in the translation of fiction. The youngest daughter of Robert Rozhdestvensky is a gifted journalist and culturologist.
Awards and memory
The work of the amazing poet was rewarded with the honorary prize of the Lenin Komsomol. And his name was assigned eighteen years ago to one of the minor planets.
In addition, the memory of the poet is preserved in his native places thanks to memorial signs and commemorative events. So, one of the city libraries in Omsk is named after Robert Rozhdestvensky. In his honor, literary readings are carried out in the region, and in the poet's native village - Kosiha - they opened a center for patriotic education of the younger generation of his name.
And, of course, the memory of the poet’s work remains in the hearts of admirers of his talent. Robert Rozhdestvensky, whose biography is so similar to the life of all Russian people, with his inspirational lines touched some special, sensitive strings of our hearts, and they now respond to these simple, but so true and beautiful poems.