Moscow Metro announcements

[Michael Denner]

Dear Colleagues,

When in Moscow at the beginning of May, riding the red line (Сокольническая линия) on the south side of Moscow, I heard repeatedly a strange version of the usual announcements over the PA - the words were the same (Уважаемые пассажиры, при выходе не забывайте свои вещи!, etc.), but considerable license had been taken with its expression (следующая станция... Спааааааааар-ТИИИИВ-ная!!!!). I actually saw people smile and laugh at the announcements- a rarity, to be sure, on the Moscow metro, so I reckon it must be a new phenomenon. The metro & its administration is usually very serious.  I didn't hear these announcements anywhere else in the city. 

I'm wondering if anyone has read anything about this - I did a search on Google, but couldn't turn up any relevant articles. Why the change? Who's responsible? Is it parcel of the "Улыбнись и Мир улыбнется тебе" campaign that's everywhere in Moscow now?

And apropos of my earlier posting on Oprah & Anna: My antipathy towards Oprah & her reading club is pretty high - I'm afraid most of her readers will just get the Greta Garbo version (or, more exactly, the wonderfully, self-consciously awful bilingual comic-book version published by Мир новых русских -- worth the $15 from Дом новых русских just to see an artist's depiction of Anna snorting cocaine) of what is, for me, the greatest of novels. I doubt that the Mona Lisa has gained much from being reprinted on coffee cups, though I suppose some would argue that such popularization of art is good for museums. 

Here's a tidbit from Ms. Winfrey's description of the novel:

"An extremely sexy and engrossing read, this book tells the tale of one of the most enthralling love affairs in the history of literature-it truly was the "Harlequin Romance" of its day."
(It goes on an on: http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/featbook/anna/obc_featbook_anna_main.jhtml)

Are we really doing the American public, Russian literature, or Slavistics a favor with this kind of "PR"? I spend a not inconsiderable time and effort "popularizing" Tolstoy here in the US, but I try to do so in a way that's respectful of the man and his work. 

It's good for a laugh, though, I suppose.

In the end, I'm ambivalent towards the issue - I suppose there are worse things for secretaries to read over lunch, but the elitist, over-educated part of me who loves Tolstoy beyond measure bristles a bit at having to share him, at least on these terms.

mad
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Dr. Michael A. Denner
Russian Studies Program
Stetson University
Campus Box 8361
DeLand, FL 32724
386.822.7381 (department)
386.822.7265 (direct line)
386.822.7380 (fax)
http://www.stetson.edu/~mdenner
http://russianpoetry.net

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