Did Onegin row for Cambridge?

[Maryna Vinarska]

John Dunn <J.Dunn at SLAVONIC.ARTS.GLA.AC.UK> wrote:
 did the writer use this obscure term in deliberate imitation of the English, or was it perhaps an attempt to avoid any possibly unwanted assocations that might arise from a description of the Cambridge rowing eight as гол�б�е [golubye]?
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I am sure it is the second. "Svetlo-sinij" is nonsense. No one says like this. Sure, it must be "golubye". Sure, it was an attempt to avoid unwanted associations.
All those efforts to implant "Golubaia kul'tura" into our lives after the beginning of perestroika were so rude, aggressive and overwhelming that they were doomed to failure. With our people it is always like this: the harder you try to impose smth against our wish, the less result you'll get. Or you'll get directly the opposite result. It is still considered to be a medical condition like any other you may be born with, diabitis or heart failure, or whatever. 
Actually, the general  attitude to homosexuality is, to my mind,  like it used to be at Pushkin's time: "What was Pushkin's perspective on homosexuality? It was humorous and ironic as it was among heterosexual educated men of the period" (Yevgeny Slivkin). I would say that it's still like this in most cases. So if you don't want smb to make any joke, it's better to avoid the word "goluboi" referring to men. Say "svetlo-sinij" to be on the safe side... ;-)
Regards,
Maryna Vinarska

		
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