Kazakov, Yuri

Yuri Kazakov (1927-1982) was born in Moscow's Arbat, the nearest thing, if it can be imagined, to a Montmartre-Bloomsbury annex situated next to the Kremlin. His family is described as of the working class, originally of peasant stock and recently immigrants to the capital. His father was arrested in 1933 and sent to the camps, and that blot on the family record appears to have been an impediment to the son's first, musical, career. Nevertheless, Kazakov's conservatorium years were not wasted, for the influence of that musical training enhanced his writing, once he transferred his interest the...