You can read the poem “Poems about the Soviet Passport” by Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky on the website. The poem, dedicated to the official document certifying citizenship, breathes patriotism: not ostentatious, but real, sincere, filled with the author’s personal feelings and experiences.
In the 20s, Mayakovsky often traveled abroad, as he was a correspondent for various printed publications. He did not write travel notes, but in a couple of poetic lines he could express what he saw and evaluate what he saw. In his poems about the passport, the poet colorfully, succinctly and figuratively describes the situation at customs: checking the passports of guests arriving from different countries. By the reaction of officials, one can judge the attitude towards the country from which the owner of the passport came, and the weight of his country in the international arena. The poet, not without sarcasm, describes the priorities of officials: they are servilely servile in front of American passports, look derogatory at the documents of those arriving from the “geographical misunderstanding” - Poland, and are indifferent to the passports of Europeans - Danes and Swedes. But the real sensation in a routine procedure is made by the passport of a citizen of the country of the Soviets. This is not just a document. The passport becomes a symbol of another world - frightening, incomprehensible, causing both fear and respect. The symbolism of the proletarian state is the hammer and sickle, the color purple is the embodiment of humanity’s age-old dream of free labor, a reminder of the blood shed for freedom and equality.
One of the most prominent patriotic poets of the lost Soviet state was Vladimir Mayakovsky. He sincerely hated the enemies of the socialist Motherland and devotedly loved it.
The text of Mayakovsky’s poem “Poems about the Soviet Passport” can be downloaded in full. The work can be taught in an online literature lesson in the classroom.
I would be a wolf
Vygraz
bureaucracy.
To the mandates
no respect.
To any
to hell with their mothers
roll
any piece of paper.
But this...
Along the long front
coupe
and cabins
official
suave moves.
Handing over passports
and I
I rent
mine
purple book.
To one passport -
smile at the mouth.
To others -
careless attitude.
With respect
take, for example,
passports
with double
English left.
With my eyes
after eating out the good uncle,
without ceasing
bow,
they take
as if they take tips,
passport
American.
In Polish –
they look
like a goat in a poster.
In Polish –
stick out their eyes
in tight
police elephantiasis -
where, they say,
and what is this
geographic news?
And without turning
heads of cabbage
and feelings
no
without having experienced
they take
without blinking,
Danish passports
and different
others
Swedes
And suddenly,
as if
burn,
mouth
grimaced
Mr.
This
Mr. official
beret
mine
red-skinned passport.
Beret –
like a bomb
takes -
like a hedgehog
like a razor
double-edged
beret,
like a rattlesnake
at 20 stings
snake
two meters tall.
Blinked
meaningfully
porter's eye
at least things
will give you away for nothing.
Gendarme
questioningly
looks at the detective
detective
to the gendarme.
With what pleasure
gendarmerie caste
I would be
whipped and crucified
for
what's in my hands
hammer-fingered,
sickle
Soviet passport.
I would be a wolf
gnawed it out
bureaucracy.
To the mandates
no respect.
To any
to hell with their mothers
roll
any piece of paper.
But this...
I
I get it
from wide legs
duplicate
priceless cargo.
Read,
envy
I -
citizen
Soviet Union.
There is no respect for mandates.
№4
any piece of paper, but this...
Along the long front of the compartments and cabins
the polite official moves.
Passports are handed over, and I hand over
№8
my purple book.
Some passports bring a smile to your mouth.
To others - a careless attitude.
For example, they take passports with respect
№12
with a double English left.
Looking out through the eyes of a kind uncle,
without ceasing to bow,
they take it as if they were taking a tip,
№16
American passport.
In Polish they look like a goat on a poster.
In Polish - they stick out their eyes
in tight police elephantiasis -
№20
where is it supposed to come from and what is it
geographic news?
And without turning your head the head of cabbage
and having not experienced any feelings,
№24
They take Danish passports without blinking
and various other Swedes,
And suddenly, as if by a burn, my mouth
grimaced at the gentleman.
№28
This is Mr. Official taking
my red-skinned passport.
He takes it like a bomb, he takes it like a hedgehog,
like a double-edged razor,
№32
takes you like a rattlesnake at twenty stings
a two-meter-tall snake.
The porter's eye blinked meaningfully,
at least he'll take your things away for free.
№36
The gendarme looks questioningly at the detective,
detective for the gendarme.
With what pleasure does the gendarmerie caste
I would be whipped and crucified
№40
because I have a hammer in my hands,
sickle soviet passport.
I would eat bureaucracy like a wolf.
There is no respect for mandates.
№44
Go to hell with your mothers
any piece of paper. But this...
I take it out of my wide trousers
a duplicate of the priceless cargo.
№48
Read, envy, I am a citizen
Soviet Union.
K mandatam pochtenia netu.
lyubaya bumazhka, No etu...
Po dlinnomu frontu kupe i kayut
chinovnik uchtivy dvizhetsya.
Sdayut passport, i ya sdayu
moyu purpurnuyu knizhitsu.
K odnim passport - ulybka u rta.
K drugim - otnosheniye plevoye.
S pochtenyem berut, naprimer, passport
s dvukhspalnym anglyskim levoyu.
Glazami dobrogo dyadyu vyev,
ne ceasevaya klanyatsya,
berut, how budto berut chayevye,
passport amerikantsa.
Na polsky - glyadyat, kak v afishu koza.
Na polsky - vypyalivayut glaza
v tugoy politseyskoy slonovosti -
otkuda, mol, i chto eto za
geograficheskiye news?
I ne povernuv golovy kochan
i chuvstv nikakikh ne izvedav,
berut, ne morgnuv, passport Danish
i raznykh prochikh shvedov,
I vdrug, like budto ozhogom, rot
skrivilo gospodinu.
This is gospodin chinovnik beret
moyu krasnokozhuyu pasportinu.
Beret - kak bombu, beret - kak yezha,
kak britvu oboyudoostruyu,
beret, kak gremuchuyu v dvadtsat zhal
zmeyu dvukhmetrovorostuyu.
Morgnul mnogoznachashche glaz nosilshchika,
khot veshchi sneset zadarom vam.
Zhandarm voprositelno smotrit na syshchika,
Syshchik na zhandarma.
S kakim naslazhdenyem zhandarmskoy kastoy
ya byl by iskhlestan i raspyat
za to, what v rukakh u menya molotkasty,
Serpasty Soviet passport.
Ya volkom by vygryz byurokratizm.
K mandatam pochtenia netu.
K lyubym chertyam s materyami katis
lyubaya bumazhka. No etu...
Ya dostayu iz shirokikh shtanin
dublikatom bestsennogo gruza.
Chitayte, zaviduyte, ya - grazhdanin
Sovetskogo Soyuza.
Stikhi o sovetskom passport
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