***** A FIRST DOZEN INCONVENIENT QUESTIONS FOR IGOR VSEVOLODOVICH ****
***** MOZHEIKO (KIRA BULYCHEV), MEMBER OF THE JURY OF THE "WANDERER" PRIZE ****
Dear Andrey and Sergey!
Do you want me to answer realistically or politely?
I will answer as I understand everything myself, that is, impolite, but you do
those bills that you deem necessary in order not to violate
the image of your friend's grandfather.
The magazine itself is necessary and I appreciate your work. Although from
the room strongly smelled of provincialism - not geographical, but psychological
chological. This is a party magazine, a disassembly magazine, not a disassembly magazine
thinking. There is no room for generalization - everyone is in a hurry to indulge. From this -
even such smart people as Borya Stern or Misha Uspens become stupid -
cue This is inevitable. When I get involved in a showdown, I start to become stupid in advance
and me.
To be honest, I don't understand the difference between the awards I'm talking about
you write in your journal. I kept thinking that there was some kind of
floating name, which was jointly made by the Terra publishing house
Fantastic" and the entourage of Boris Strugatsky to get yourself
by bonus. From the very beginning, all this sounded shameful to me. But I,
as a person who deeply reveres Boris Strugatsky, I could not change
convince him that participation in the jury is immoral. Even probably in
You couldn't imagine a prize for the most dystopian novel, which members
the jury awards to each other. But Boris and you trampled me underfoot,
claiming that inSt. Petersburg will gather lambs, pinnacles of purity and altru-
ism. Moreover, I did not have the opportunity to read what I should
was to judge. Which is what I told Boris, hoping that he would take pity on me
and release my soul to repentance. Boris did not regret and left me
as members of the jury, since some Moscow writer was needed,
and this whole story wouldn’t turn into an absolute get-together.
When I tried to assure in telephone conversations that in addition to
obedient members of the jury in Russia there are other writers, Cher-
Tkov proved to me that it was impossible to get them, etc. Further
my participation in this story would be completely obscene. Pre-
You bet I came to St. Petersburg, I walk along the sidelines and I follow my mind -
some people say: “This is one of the jury members who have gathered here-
Yes, eat your own bonus." Well, they gnawed it out, and thank God.
Now some more comments (on the points that you sent me).
7. Whoever is on the jury will receive the prize, provided that he
will take part in the decisive meeting.
8. The point itself is a party place. At the level of pioneer thinking
Leny: and if our pioneer leader loves blond boys, then
does this mean that brunettes will no longer be accepted into the camp?
The same applies to point 9. Don’t hang out, don’t give a damn about the chatter
just say and write what you want. Can't you do without the bonus that
wasn't invented for you?
I have already answered point 10. We needed an extra closet, here we go
andmoved.
I also already explained point 11 - you couldn’t come if you
You respect yourself at least a little. You cannot participate in events
having a certain ethically dubious connotation. Oh how you fought
at one time with the immoral "Young Guard"!
Point 12 also comes from everything I said - publishing house
paid for gingerbread not disinterestedly. He needed a medal for
neck "For diligence." Am I slandering? The answer to this lies in your
question.
Point 13. I do not have the honor of knowing the giant of Russian thought by
named after Fleishman. This is probably some of your local hangouts
figure? Sorry, my fault.
The last thing I want to say concerns point 2 of your question -
Nick.
I read Katz’s book (and, as I learned, Arbitman’s)
just the other day. I haven't come across it before. I know that Arbitman according to...
For some reason he doesn't love me. It's his business. I didn't him either
I love it. This is my business. But if I had known at the time when I was
Boris Strugatsky stank and invited him to the jury that in this party
Arbitman-Katz will participate, I wouldn’t talk at all
became. As you know, I have no sense of humor, and Katz’s book does not suit me.
It seems funny, but it seems mediocre. For the same reason I suppose
its offensive to me and beyond the bounds of decency.
And it’s not even that in the book, under proper names, there are
only two writers are wounded (Vladimir Shcherbakov and me), but the point is onea detail well known to Arbitman, which among decent people
unacceptable: I was dying of a heart attack, but I put it off for now.
Arbitman wrote that I died of a heart attack and indicated the correct
date of my illness. If you and those who gave awards to Katz’s book,
this seems funny, then I have a completely different attitude towards
humor. I'm tired of answering the phone (and I'm not kidding), in
which people who have seen Arbitman’s book and who know my last name
reading through my books, calling me at home and expressing condolences
to my loved ones. This isn't funny to me either.
As for my further participation in any juries,
or permission to nominate any of my works for prizes,
you, then I categorically declare that I do not agree, will not, will not participate-
yours, I am not a member and am not.
Sorry for the impoliteness.
Yours, Igor Mozheiko. Moscow September 20, 1994
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