Trotsky and Reindeer (Help!)

[Sasha Spektor]

Yuri,
a query in Russian "олени на красной площади" in Google opens into various
discussions on the subject.  From what I can tell, it's all made-up,
Pelevin-style.

S.


On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 12:42 PM, Yuri Corrigan <yuricorrigan at gmail.com>wrote:

> Dear Seelangers,
>
> I didn't hear back from anyone on my query about Trotsky, his worn-out
> reindeer, Murakami, and the reindeer statue in Red Square.
>
> I've pasted the passage below (it's actually from Murakami's 1980 novel, *Pinball,
> 1973*). My colleague (who's translating the novel into Polish) wants to
> know if there's any truth to Murakami's claims.  I've said that, from what
> I can tell, it's all made up, except for the fact that Trotsky did indeed
> escape from imprisonment on a reindeer sleigh (which I got from consulting
> Service's biography).
>
> Here's the passage:
>
> "It seems that Trotsky escaped from a penal colony under cover of night by
> stealing a reindeer sleigh. The four reindeer raced headlong across the
> silver expanse of frozen tundra, their breaths turning to white mist in the
> cold air, their hooves churning up the virgin snow. Two days later when
> they reached a train station, the reindeer keeled over from exhaustion,
> never to get up again. Trotsky hugged the dead reindeer and made a vow,
> tears streaming from his eyes. Whatever it takes, said he, I will bring
> justice and ideals, and above all, revolution to the nation. And to this
> very day, standing in Red Square is a bronze stature of the four reindeer.
> One facing east, one north, one west, and one south. Even Stalin couldn't
> bring himself to tear down these reindeer. Visitors to Moscow should be
> sure to go to the Red Square early Saturday mornings. That's when
> rosy-cheeked middle school children come out, breath all white in the cold,
> and mop down the reindeer."
> (Haruki Murakami, "Pinball, 1973," English trans. Alfred Birnbaum)
>
>
> There are no reindeer statues anywhere in Moscow, right? (is he getting it
> mixed up with the troika statue near the Kremlin?  Or maybe it's just all
> made up?
>
> Any help would be much appreciated.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Yuri
>
>
> Yuri Corrigan
> Assistant Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature
> Boston University
>
>  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
> options, and more. Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
> http://seelangs.wix.com/seelangs-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                        http://seelangs.wix.com/seelangs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/seelang/attachments/20140131/5a79e605/attachment.html>