Triumphal Songs of Victory

Janga Todosh Bedyurov

Translated from altai by Elena Koroleva

We will mow our fields
With a sharp scythe as before.
We will live until it isn`t pulled
The thread of the soul is like a hair.

We will mow our meads
With a honed scythe as before.
We will live until it isn`t pulled
The thread of the soul as a blade.

1945 y.

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Do not ride on the white meadow,
Was there a wake held?
Do not drink arak with pleasure,
Is there a bitter spice?

Do not ride on the bright meadow,
Was there a pit dug? 
Do not drink a cup with pleasure,
Is there a poisoned staff?

1945 y.

Janga Todosh Bedyurov (1916-1961). The Altai poet Janga from the exogamous Todosh family was born in 1916 and worked since the age of 9. When his father died, he independently learned to read and write in the Altai and Russian languages. In 1928, he was drafted into the army and subsequently spent almost all his life in military service. In 1936, he was repressed, spent a year and a half in prison, and was deprived of all military ranks and awards. In 1939, Janga was again drafted into the army, took part in World War II, and participated in the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Kursk, and the siege of Konigsberg. He was discharged from the service in 1946 after nine severe wounds. Later, until his death, he worked in agriculture in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region of the USSR.

Elena Koroleva is a historian and folklorist. Her research investigates oral history of Russian Old Believers and Altaians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Koroleva’s dissertation is on Altai folk legends as historical sources. She is a professional translator of historical texts from the language of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples into Russian and other European languages. She continues to develop in this direction and carry out scientific activities at the present time.