Bulat Okudzhava appeared on the Moscow literary scene in the late 1950s and initially became famous as a bard: in fact as a ballad singer, or “guitar poet” – or, to use the French term, a chansonnier.
Okudzhava was born in 1924 in Moscow to a Georgian father and an Armenian mother. His parents, who were Communist Party activists, were both arrested in the Purges as “enemies of the people”, his father being executed in 1937. The young Okudzhava volunteered for military service in1942 and, after being wounded, served in the reserves. He was educated at Tbilisi State University from 1945-50 where he took a degree in philology. Twice married, in 1947 and 1965, and with two sons, Okudzhava taught …
2003 words
Citation: Gogolitsyna, Natalia L. "Bulat Okudzhava". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 June 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11719, accessed 21 November 2024.]
