''Bublichki'' (Russian: бублички, "hot buns" or "bagels"; sometimes transliterated as ''Bublitchki'') is a Russian-language song from the

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

(NEP) era of the Soviet Union, written by . Тhe song's depiction of the harsh reality of life under the NEP resulted in it being banned until the late 1980s. Despite state repression, the song remained popular underground.

Background

''Bublichki'' was written in the context of the

, an early Soviet economic plan designed to boost the country's collapsed economy. The NEP's mixed economy featured private enterprise, in contrast to the previous

war communism War communism or military communism (, ''Vojenný kommunizm'') was the economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921. War communism began in June 1918, enforced by the Supreme Economi ...

. While the NEP led to a resurgence in industrial and agricultural production, a large portion of the gains went to the wealthy NEPmen, leaving much of the general populace poor. The singer in ''Bublichki'' is one of those left behind by the NEP, forced to resort to selling food on the street in order to survive. While there have been multiple claims to authorship, most scholars agree that the song was written by Yakov Yadov. Yadov was inspired to write the lyrics after a conversation with his friend, the performer Grigory Markovich Krasavin. Krasavin had seen many signs asking for people to buy bagels, and, playing a familiar violin melody, asked Yadov to write lyrics to go along with the tune. According to scholar Patricia Herlihy, the resulting ''

blatnaya pesnya ''Blatnaya pesnya'' ( rus, блатная песня, p=blɐtˈnajə ˈpʲesʲnʲə, "criminals' song") or ''blatnyak'' ( rus, links=no, блатняк, p=blɐtʲˈnʲak) is a genre of Russian song characterized by depictions of criminal subcultu ...

'' was one of the most popular songs of the NEP era. The song's subversive themes resulted in the government banning it until the late 1980s; despite the ban, it remained popular by being passed down through word of mouth, though this resulted in many different versions of the song. The song proved persistently popular in translation among

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

-speaking Jews, though the translation lost the political nature of the original. The American duo

the Barry Sisters Minnie Bagelman (April 6, 1923 – October 31, 1976) and Clara Bagelman (October 17, 1920 – November 22, 2014),NOTE: Claire Barry was not born in 1923, the year that had previously been cited as her year of birth, but in 1920, as all notices ...

performed that Yiddish version as late as after

World War II 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 ...

Bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

s including

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

recorded English-language versions with the subtitle "The Pretzel Seller's Song." ''Bublichki'' was also reworked into a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

song by Soviet singer and bandleader

Leonid Utyosov Leonid Osipovich Utesov, also spelled Utyosov or Utiosov, born Lazar (Leyzer) Iosifovich Vaysbeyn or Weissbein (, Odessa – 9 March 1982, Moscow), was a famous Soviet estrada singer, and comic actor, who became the first pop singer to be award ...

, who performed it with his orchestra. Utyosov often performed songs from the ''blatnaya pesnya'' genre, including ''Bublichki'' and other songs by Yadov.

Lyrics

As with many underground songs from the era, multiple versions of the lyrics exist.

References

{{reflist Russian songs Soviet songs Russian chanson Bagels Year of song unknown