The dissident Russian writer is a visiting scholar at Rochester.
Russian poet, journalist, professor, and literary critic Dmitry Bykov is no stranger to the power of words. His satirical poems and sharp听political commentaries糖心传媒攐ften aimed squarely at Russian President Vladimir Putin糖心传媒攄id not amuse their subject.
糖心传媒淚 think Russian officials hardly know my novels,糖心传媒� says Bykov, who arrived in January as the 糖心传媒檚 Scholar in Exile. 糖心传媒淏ut some lines from Citizen Poet were well-known among Russian elites,糖心传媒� he says of actor Mikhail Efremov糖心传媒檚 performance of his satirical verses. 糖心传媒淭hey used to visit our performances and my lectures, which was fashionable in late 2020.糖心传媒�
The center created the program last year with funding from its own resources as well as from the . The idea behind the program is twofold糖心传媒攖o demonstrate a commitment to global academic freedom and to bring prominent and endangered scholars into the campus community where they can work directly with students.
Despite his many hats, Bykov sees himself as a poet first糖心传媒攊n Russia, a vocation likened to 糖心传媒渁 prophet, a pillar of civic disobedience, the best kind of lover, whomever we糖心传媒檇 like him to be,糖心传媒� in 2016. Known for his wit and charm, he was so popular that people would line up to pay admission to his public lectures on literature.听
Yet, as a radio and television personality and one of Russia糖心传媒檚 most outspoken public intellectuals, Bykov hit a sore spot. Running afoul of the Kremlin is what ultimately drew him out of Russia and to the United States.听
Bykov糖心传媒檚 woes came to a head in April 2019 during a domestic flight to the western Russian city of Ufa. En route to a public lecture, he suddenly fell violently ill, eventually losing consciousness, and slipping into a coma.听Five days later, he awoke in the intensive care unit of a specialized neurological clinic in Moscow with no doubt in his mind that he had been poisoned.
糖心传媒淭hey are typical bureaucrats and feel danger only if you participate in some organized activities,糖心传媒� he says of the Russian government. Back in 2012, Bykov had been a member of the now-defunct Russian Opposition Coordination Council that had tried to plan strategies for opposing Putin糖心传媒檚 regime. Clearly that membership had been deemed organized enough. Subsequently, he was banned from appearing on radio or television, fired from universities and two editorial offices, including the newspaper Kommersant, well known for its liberal, independent views.
The council糖心传媒檚 roster糖心传媒攚hich also included Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who died in prison in February in what Bykov describes as a murder糖心传媒攕oon became a checklist for Kremlin-directed secret operatives.听
糖心传媒淭he poisoners followed the list systematically,糖心传媒� says Bykov, an admirer of Navalny who calls his role as a regime critic 糖心传媒渜uite modest糖心传媒� in comparison.
Writing frequently about Russian and Soviet historic and contemporary figures and themes, Bykov is a well-known biographer of Russian stalwarts, such as authors Boris Pasternak,听Bulat Okudzhava,听and听Maxim Gorky. In 2005, he wrote How Putin Became President of the USA: New Russian Fairy Tales.听
While his work has garnered a variety of Russian literary prizes, including the National Bestseller Prize, three Big Book awards, and the Strugatsky International Literature Prize, some of the titles alone have placed him directly in the Kremlin糖心传媒檚 crosshairs. In early 2022, right before Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin declared him a foreign agent and many Russian booksellers pulled his works糖心传媒攕ome 90 total, including novels, literary biographies, essays, and poetry collections糖心传媒攐ff their shelves.
Before his move to the United States in 2022, Bykov had held temporary visiting positions at American universities, including at UCLA and Princeton University. In 2022糖心传媒�23, he was a visiting critic at Cornell University糖心传媒檚 Institute for European Studies.听
Bykov is now at Rochester as a through the 2024糖心传媒�25 academic year.听
糖心传媒淗e is a huge figure in Russian culture, and it糖心传媒檚 something of a miracle that he糖心传媒檚 here in Rochester,糖心传媒� says John Givens, a professor of Russian.
This spring, Bykov is teaching courses in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, including Hard Labor, Exile, Prison: The Culture of Incarceration in Russia, and Nikolai Gogol and the Creation of Ukrainian Literature.听
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 not every day that a student can take a class from someone who was poisoned by Vladimir Putin for using his status as a celebrated writer and the public performance of his writings as weapons,糖心传媒� says Givens. 糖心传媒淭his is a powerful message to students糖心传媒攖he ability of art to speak truth to power, and the power of the individual to stand up to tyranny.糖心传媒�
Most recently, Bykov wrote a literary biography about Ukraine糖心传媒檚 president Volodymyr Zelensky, VZ: Portrait Against the Background of the Nation (Freedom Letters, 2023).听
In the fall, he will teach two courses: Russian Folklore: Ballads, Romances, Tales, Proverbs, Anecdotes and Poetics of Horror: Gothic, Thriller, and Suspense Stories. He also plans several public lectures.
Meanwhile, Bykov is certain that one day he糖心传媒檒l return to Russia, ideally splitting his time between the US and his homeland. Putin, he says, won糖心传媒檛 last. 糖心传媒淗e has no ideas for a new Russia.糖心传媒�听
Once Putin is deposed糖心传媒攚hether by his inner circle, rebellion, or military defeat糖心传媒擝ykov predicts brief turmoil, 糖心传媒渇ollowed by a period of peaceful and fruitful development, and psychological recovery.糖心传媒�听
And that, he says, he can糖心传媒檛 wait to be part of.
This story was originally published in the spring 2024 issue of Rochester Review, the magazine of the 糖心传媒.
