Talk:Boris Pasternak

Nobel Prize

Did Pasternak merely "decline to accept it", or was he prevented by the Soviet authorities from doing so? I always understood the latter was the case. JackofOz 00:34, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

He declined to accept because Khruschev's campaign at his systematic persecution implied that, once departing for Stockholm, he would be stripped of Soviet citizenship and would never be allowed to return home. Pasternak was old and, knowing that his end was near, chose to die in Russia rather then accept the prize and end his days abroad. --Ghirla | talk 01:08, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, Ghirla. Doesn't this need some reference in the article? From what you say, discretion was the better part of valour, but if political circumstances had been different, there would have been no reason for Pasternak to decline the award. He may have declined to accept it, but only in the face of undesirable consequences if he had done so. JackofOz 02:07, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that's exactly how I and other people in Russia interprete his reclusion. I'm not a native speaker, so I trust you would articulate the passage better than myself. --Ghirla | talk 08:07, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Thank you. I've made some changes to the article using your information. JackofOz 09:00, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

Conversion of Pasternak's Father

This is mentioned as having a profound effect on Pasternak but the date of his father's conversion or Boris' age at the time of his father's conversion is not mentioned here, or in the WP article on Leonid. It would seem that the date of this occurence ought to be mentioned. Hi There 22:38, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Pasternak's father, Leonid Pasternak, did not convert in his lifetime. He himself states this in his reply to the famous article by Bialik (reprinted in almanac "Год за годом", Moscow, 1989). Documents on Boris Pasternak's circumcision in Jewish tradition and on his and his parents belonging to the Jewish faith (иудейское вероисповедание) at the time of his admission to Moscow University have been published more than a decade ago (originally in collection of documents "Лица" cf see details here, in Russian), then in two detailed biographies of Boris Pasternak (by Natalia Ivanova and by Dmitry Bykov). Letter by Boris Pasternak to his father from Marburg (1912), where he discusses the very impossibility of conversion from Jewish faith is widely known see here again, in Russian. --SimulacrumDP 16:30, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Birthdate

There is one confusion here:

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (January 29 [O.S. February 10] 1890...

It's right that he was born Jan 29 (old style), i.e. Feb 10 (Gregorian). Avia 08:02, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Contradicts entry on Doctor Zhivago regarding publication date in Russia

This entry and the one specifically on Doctor Zhivago offer conflicting dates for the eventual publication of the book in Russia. They differ by a year. Anyone know? Fitzhugh 05:42, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

• It was published in Novy Mir magazine starting from the January 1988, the announcement of intended publications were made in 1987 and, naturally, the censorship agreement was obtained in 1987, thus, the confusion. I have changed the date to 1988 Alex Bakharev 01:29, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Best English translation of Zhivago?

Any recommendations? The Harvill one I've got is awful.