Alexander Moiseevich Gorodnitsky (born March 20, 1933) is a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He is the author of over 60 books, poems, songs, and other literary works. His song "Atlantes Hold the Heavens" is the official anthem of the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

and considered as unofficial anthem of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Professionally, he is a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

. Gorodnitsky is an author of over 250 scientific publications on geophysics and tectonics of ocean bottom.

Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

No. 5988 and a pass in the

Sayan Mountains The Sayan Mountains (, ; ) are a mountain range in southern Siberia spanning southeastern Russia (Buryatia, Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Tuva and Khakassia) and northern Mongolia. Before the rapid expansion of the Tsardom of Russia, the mou ...

were named after Alexander Gorodnitsky.

Early life

Gorodnitsky was born on 20 March 1933 in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

to a

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

family originated from

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

. His father — Moisey Afroimovich Gorodnitsky (1908–1986) — was an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who worked in the

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

industry. His mother — Rakhil Moiseevna Gorodnitskaya (1908–1981), — in her youth, was a school maths

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, then worked as corrector and editor of

sailing directions General information Sailing Directions are volumes published by various National Hydrographic Offices or Coast Guard Agencies which provide essential information to support port entry and coastal navigation for all classes of ships at sea. Sail ...

. Gorodnitsky survived the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

during

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1951, he graduated from high school №254 and entered the Faculty of

Geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

of the Leningrad Mining Institute, which he graduated in 1957 with

specialist degree The specialist degree is an academic degree conferred by a college or university. The degree is formatted differently worldwide and may be either a five-year program or a doctoral level graduate program that occurs after a master's degree but befo ...

Academic career

From 1957 until 1972 Gorodnitsky worked in the

Research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

for

Geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

(its current name is ''All-Russian Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean named after academician I.S. Gramberg''). He has participated in many geological expeditions. Gorodnitsky is one of the discoverers of the Igarskoye copper deposit (1962). Since 1962, he has participated in maritime geophysical expeditions. Gorodnitsky is one of the authors of new ocean's electric field measurement method (1967). In collaboration with V.D. Fedorov and A.N. Paramonov he discovered the bioelectric effect of phytoplankton (1967). In 1968, he became a

Candidate of Sciences A Candidate of Sciences is a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD-equivalent academic research degree in all the post-Soviet countries with the exception of Ukraine, and until the 1990s it was also awarded in Central and Eastern European countries. It is ...

(thesis on "The application of magnetometry and electrometry for the ocean bottom exploration"). From 1969 until 1972 Gorodnitsky headed the Laboratory of Marine Geophysics of the

for

. In 1972, Gorodnitsky moved from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and started working for the Research Institute of Oceanology named after P.P. Shirshov as a principal researcher. In 1982, he became a

Doctor of Sciences A Doctor of Sciences, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; ; ; ; is a higher doctoral degree in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and many Commonwealth of Independent States countries. One of the prerequisites of receiving a Doctor of Sciences ...

in geological and mineralogical sciences (thesis on "The structure of oceanic

lithosphere A lithosphere () is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, the topmost portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time ...

and underwater mountain building"). In 1991, Gorodnitsky was given the highest academic rank of the

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

. He authored original model of petromagnetic structure of the

Mid-ocean ridge A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a undersea mountain range, seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about and rises about above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading ...

zones (1997). He teaches in the State University of the

naukograd Naukograd ( rus, наукогра́д, p=nəʊkɐˈgrat, also technopole), meaning "science city", is a formal term for towns with high concentrations of research and development facilities in Russia and the Soviet Union, some specifically built ...

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of '' naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and o ...

as visiting professor. He was awarded the honorary title of "Merited figure of sciences of Russian Federation" (2005). Gorodnitsky was at the drifting station at the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

(1964) and in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

(1973). In 1982 and 1984, he took part in expeditions devoted to the search for the legendary

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

at the

Ampère Seamount Ampère Seamount is a seamount in the Atlantic Ocean, south-west of Portugal and west of Morocco. It is located at 35°04'N and 12°57'W. This seamount is about 90 × 40 km, its base is at a depth of approximately . The summit topography i ...

in the North Atlantic. Gorodnitsky's research included numerous dives on bathyscaphes, starting from Hermit Atoll in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

in 1978. In 1988, during an expedition on the research ship

Akademik Mstislav Keldysh RV ''Akademik Mstislav Keldysh'' () is a 6,240 ton Russian scientific research vessel. It has made over 50 voyages, and is best known as the support vessel of the ''Mir'' submersibles. The vessel is owned by the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology ...

in the North Atlantic on the deep-sea apparatus Mir (submersible), he dived to a depth of 4.5 kilometers.

Poet and singer-songwriter

Gorodnitsky's first songs appeared during his expedition in 1953. For a long time his songs were distributed via

samizdat Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...

tape recordings, and often performed by other singers. Like Alexander Galich, and unlike other bards, Gorodnitsky composed and sang his songs

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

for several decades; later, he started playing the guitar. Most of his songs are based on his personal experiences. In concert, he usually performs with a professional guitarist accompanying him. In 1972, Alexander Gorodnitsky was admitted to the Union of Soviet Writers on the recommendations of famous poets

Boris Slutsky Boris Abramovich Slutsky (; 7 May 1919 – 23 February 1986) was a Soviet Union, Soviet poet, translator, Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War veteran, major, and member of the Union of Soviet Writers, Soviet Union of Writers (1957). ...

, David Samoilov, and

Vadim Shefner Vadim Sergeevich Shefner (); (December 30, 1914 (January 12, 1915) - January 5, 2002) was a Soviet and Russian poet and writer who started publishing poetry in 1936. His first poetry collection was published in 1940. He turned to humorous and phil ...

. In the opinion of literary critics: "The art of Alexander Gorodnitsky is definitely a most remarkable phenomenon of both guitar poetry and the wider Russian literary culture of the 20th century. Having undergone a nearly 50-year-long evolution, it now presents an organic synthesis of the poetic word with profound philosophical, historical, and scientific intuition to embody in its multi-genre creative system the essential qualities of the modern worldview". Poems and songs by Alexander Gorodnitsky have been translated into English, Bulgarian, Hebrew, Spanish, German, Polish, French, Czech and other languages. They have also been included in school curricula. Gorodnitsky is acknowledged to be one of the founders of the bard songs genre in

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. His most popular songs are following: "Atlantes Hold the Heavens", "Near the Pillars of Hercules", "To the mainland", "Blue sky above Canada", "French ambassador's wife", "Snow", "Riffles", "The song of polar pilots". Many of Alexander Gorodnitsky poems and songs published in post-Soviet period are dedicated to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

: "

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

" (1998), "Neva-

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

" (2000), "German

castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This i ...

" (2003), "

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

" (2018), "

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

" (2019) and others. Gorodnitsky is a member of the

Union of Writers of Russia The Union of Writers of Russia () is a creative union of professional writers in Russia. It is the successor of the Union of RSFSR Writers, which was founded in 1958. The Union of Writers of Russia has 90 branches in the regions of Russia and othe ...

and

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

. Also he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fazil Iskander International Literary Award. He was awarded the honorary title of "Merited figure of arts of Russian Federation" (2013).

Family

Gorodnitsky has a son from first wife, a Vladimir (born 1955), who has been living in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

since 1984. His second wife was Anna Nal (28 September 1942 - 11 September 2017), professional interpreter/translator. The marriage was childless.

Political views and social activity

Gorodnitsky opposed the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

and had signed the open letter against

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, political self-isolation of Russia, restoration of

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...

Albums

* «Русские барды. Александр Городницкий» («Имка-Пресс», Париж, 1977). * «Атланты» («Мелодия», Ленинград, 1987), («Мелодия», Москва, 1987). * «Берег» (1988). * «Около площади» (1993). * «За тех, кто на Земле» (1995). * «Давай поедем в Царское Село» (1997). * «Вперёдсмотрящий» (1996). * «Система Декарта» (1999). * «На материк» (1998). * «Как медь умела петь…» (1997). * «За шпилей твоих окоём» (2003). * «Александр Городницкий» (двойной альбом, 2002). * «Двадцать первый тревожный век» (2003). * «Уйти на судне» (2005). * «Гадание по ладони» (2003). * «Река времён» (2008). * «Навстречу судьбе» (2009). * «От Оренбурга до Петербурга» (2009). * «Новая Голландия» (2009). * «Глобальное потепление» (2012). * «Почему расстались» (2013). * «У Геркулесовых столбов» (2013). * «Детям» (2014). * «Споём, ребята, вместе» (2014). * «Давайте верить в чудеса» (2015). * «Перезагрузка» (2017). * «Октава» (2018). * «Книжечки на полке» (2019). * «Блокадный метроном» (2019). * «Пока звенит струна» (2020). * «Бухта Наталья» (двойной альбом, 2022). * «Лебединая гавань» (2022). The songs were written in 2020–2022. The song «Swans Harbor» (Russian: «Лебединая гавань») is dedicated to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Books

* Атланты: Стихи. М., Л.: Сов. писатель, 1967. * Новая Голландия: Стихи. Л.: Лениздат, 1971. * Берег: Стихи. М.: Сов. писатель, 1984. * Полночное солнце: Стихи. М.: Сов. писатель, 1990. * Перелетные ангелы: Стихи и песни. М.: Интербук, Свердловск: Старт, 1991. * Острова в океане: Песни. М.: МГЦАП, 1993. * Созвездие Рыбы: Стихи. СПб.: Девятый вал, 1993. * Остров Израиль: Стихи и песни. Иерусалим: 1995. * Времена года: Поэмы. М.: Сампо, 1996. * Ледяное стремя: Стихи. СПб.: Звезда, 1997. * Атланты держит небо. Иерусалим: Беседер, 1999. * Имена вокзалов. - СПб.: Петрополь, 1999. * Стихи и песни. Избранное. СПб.: Лимбус Пресс, 1999. * На материк. М.: Вагант-Москва, 1999. * Давай поедем в Царское Село. СПб.: Бояныч, 1999. * За временем вдогонку. М.: Вагант, 1999. * Васильевский остров. М.: Вагант-Москва, 1999. * Бульварное кольцо. М.: Вагант-Москва, 1999. * Зелёный луч. М.: Вагант-Москва, 1999. * Сочинения. М.: Локид, 2000. * «Когда судьба поставлена на карту». М.: Эксмо, 2001. * «И жить еще надежде». М.: Вагриус, 2001. * Атланты. СПб.: Композитор, 2004. * Снег. Екатеринбург: У-Фактория, 2004. * Родство по слову. Иерусалим: Беседер, 2005. * Гадание по ладони. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2006. * Время для хора. М.: Радуга, 2006. * Коломна. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2008. * Избранное. СПб.: Вита Нова, 2008. * Избранное. Новосибирск: Талер-Пресс, 2008 (Том 1), 2010 (Том 2). * Ночной поезд. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2009. * Легенда о доме. Избранные стихи и песни. М.: Азбука-классика, 2010. * Бакинская тетрадь. Баку: Изд. Д. Имамвердиев и клуб АП Баку, 2012. * Почему расстались. СПб.: Петрополис, 2012. * Корабли у пирса. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2012. * Песни разных лет. Харьков: Золотые страницы, 2013. * Царскосельская тетрадь. СПб: Серебряный век, 2013. * Атланты: Моя кругосветная жизнь. М.: Яуза, Эксмо, 2013. * Атланты держат небо: Стихотворения. Песни. Поэмы. СПб.: Лениздат, 2013. * Детям. Харьков: Золотые страницы, 2014. * Улица времени. СПб: Фонд русской поэзии, 2014. * Двадцать первый тревожный век: Стихи. СПб.: Лимбус Пресс, 2014. * Тайны и мифы науки. В поисках истины. М.: Яуза, Эксмо, 2014. * Будет помниться война. М.: Наша школа, 2015. * Стихи и песни. М.: Эксмо, 2015. * Стихи и песни Двадцать первого века. М.: Эксмо, 2015. * Давайте верить. СПб: Фонд русской поэзии, 2015. * Определение дома: Избранные стихотворения и песни. СПб.: Вита Нова, 2016. * Осеннее равноденствие. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2016. * Стихи и песни. М.: Яуза, Эксмо, 2016. * Новые стихи и песни. М.: Яуза, Эксмо, 2016. * Полное собрание песен. М., Яуза, 2017. * Ступени Эрмитажа. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2018. * Различие в возрасте. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2018. * Моя маму зовут Рахиль: Стихи и песни. СПб.: Издание Бориса Бейлина, 2019. * Между сушей и водой. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2020. * Океан времен: Стихи и песни о русской и мировой истории. СПб., 2020. * «Атланты держат небо...»: Воспоминания старого островитянина. М.: Яуза, 2020. * Продление жизни. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2021. * На ускользающей Земле. СПб.: Фонд русской поэзии, 2021. * Дорога к Пушкину: Стихи и песни, посвященные великому русскому поэту. М.: Издательство «Академическая наука», 2021. * Разведенные мосты. М.: Издательство «Академическая наука», 2021. * Избранное: Стихи, песни, поэмы. М.: Яуза, 2021. * Вечерняя тень. М.: Издательство «Академическая наука», 2022. * Московское время: Стихи и песни о Москве. М.: Издательство «Академическая наука», 2022.

Notes

References

External links

Официальный сайт Александра Городницкого
— official website
Personalities of Saint-Petersburg
— biography and photographs
Alexander Gorodnitsky’s bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorodnitsky, Alexander 1933 births Living people 20th-century Russian male writers Honoured Scientists of the Russian Federation Russian bards Russian Jews Russian male poets Russian male singer-songwriters Russian singer-songwriters Russian television presenters Saint Petersburg Mining University alumni Soviet male singer-songwriters Soviet singer-songwriters Soviet male writers Soviet musicians Soviet poets Soviet songwriters Writers from Saint Petersburg 20th-century Russian male singers Soviet Jews Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Soviet geologists Soviet oceanographers Honored Workers of the Arts Industry of the Russian Federation