The Championship of the Universal Class Struggle

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The Championship of the Universal Class StruggleAuthor(s): Frantiek Dek and Vladimir MayakovskyReviewed work(s):Source: The Drama Review: TDR, Vol. 17, No. 1, Russian Issue (Mar., 1973), pp. 53-63Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1144792 .

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T h e Championshipf t h eUniversal C l a s s Struggle

IntroductionTheChampionshipof the Universal ClassStruggle,a circusscenario, was writtenin the Fallof 1920during Mayakovsky'swork at Window ROSTA. t is possible to es-tablish almost the exact date from the text. The line statingthat Pilsudski, he PolishChampion,"doesn't want to fight anymore"refersto the armisticeat the Polish frontconcluded on Oct 20, 1920.Inthe last lines, the Referee urges spectatorsto join theRed Armyin the fight against Wrangel;the Red Armydefeated Wrangelon Nov. 15,1920.Thus,"TheChampionship"must have been written between Oct. 20 and Nov.15,1920.The propaganda hemes and characters rom"Championship"arealso present inother works writtenby Mayakovsky n the Fallof 1920.The title, TheChampionshipofthe Universal ClassStruggle, is a line in the poem "150,000,000"written in 1919-20.The appeal to join the Red Armyis also the subject of Mayakovsky'silmscenario, ToTheFront(1920).Themes fromWindow ROSTAn October and November of 1920arealso very similar:for example, Window ROSTANo. 406 (TheArmistice on the PolishFront),No. 412 (Wrangel)and No. 528(Profiteers).Some of them, such as No. 406 andNo. 528,have verses identicalwith"Championship.""The Championship"was staged by Lazarenko in the Second State Circus inMoscow in November, 1920.The stagingwas a parodyof the popularcircuswrestlingmatch.Awrestling ringwas erected in the middle of the arena.Referee Uncle Vanya(the artistic name of a well-known referee of French boxing, Ivan Lebedev) wasplayed by Lazarenko. His costume consisted of a cap, long-waisted coat and high,

tight boots. The other champions were played by circus comics and clowns. Theywore jerseyswith a sash across the chest covered with imitation medals.Atthe end ofthe performance,afterthe line "I'lleven take a carriage,"a largehoop wasrolled intothe arena.Lazarenkoplaced himself in the hoop and rolled around the arenaand off-stage.Accordingto YuriDimitriev'saccount in The SovietCircus,Lazarenkoalso playedthe Revolution; he supposedly changed into the costume of the Revolution (a largered shirt)before the lastfight. In the text, however, the Referee presents the Revo-lution, and the Revolution addresses itself to the Referee. If we assume that thedescription of the performance is correct, the contradiction in the text can beexplained. Mayakovskywrote a scenario that was changed and rewrittenduringtherehearsal and first performances. It is possible that, between the text that comesdown to us (found in Lazarenko'sarchives after his death) and the text that wasactually performed, there are some differences. We can also admit the possibilityofsome physicalaction between the lines, permittingLazarenko o change hiscostume.Itmust also be remembered that it was a circusperformanceand that the differencebetween the text and the actualperformancecan be immense.

FrantisekDeak


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At left, a painting of Lazarenko incircus costume. Below, Maya-kovsky's Window ROSTA posterNo. 412, which depicts the RedArmy's struggle against Baron PiotrWrangel, a Russian general whowas in command of the WhiteArmy during the Revolution.

POCTArf9


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T h e Championshipf t h eUniversal C l a s s Struggle

ByVladimirMayakovsky(1920)CAST

Uncle Referee

The World Champion

Lazarenko, (Vitaly, a famous Russian clown.)

Revolution

Entente Champion (There was aTriple Entente between France,England and Russia prior to WorldWar I, as well as an Anglo-RussianEntente and an Anglo-FrenchEntente.)American Champion

French Champion

Crimean Champion

Lloyd George,(David, 1863-1945. He was British PrimeMinister in the coalition cabinet of 1916-1922.He also was one of the "big four" at the ParisPeace Conference in 1919.)

Wilson,(Woodrow, 1856-1923. Twenty-seventhPresident of the United States.)

Millerand,(Alexandre, 1859-1943. At first a Socialist, afterWorld War I he became an ardent nationalistand rightist. He was Premier in 1920 andPresident of France from 1920 to 1924.)Wrangel,(Baron Piotr, 1878-1928. A Russian General. In1920, he succeeded Denikin in command of theWhite Army. He was forced back into theCrimea by the Red Army and had to evacuatehis forces to Constantinople.)


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VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY

Polish Champion Pilsudski,(Joseph, 1867-1935. A Polish marshal andstatesman. Originally a Socialist, he wasrepeatedly exiled and imprisoned by Russianauthorities. During World War I, he com-manded Polish forces under Austrian sponsor-ship, but toward the war's end he quarreledwith the Central Powers and was interned.Released in 1918, he proclaimed an inde-pendent Polish republic. He fought victoriouslyagainst Russia to restore the Eastern Frontier asit was in 1772.)

Our Champion Profiteer Sidorov,(a common name-denotes Joe Blow, or lower-class.)

Almost Champion Menshevik, family name unknown, living withfake credentials. (A political party in Russia atthe time of the play.)

REFEREEHear ye,Hear ye.Come in, people.Listen, people.Look, everyone who's eager:Lazarenko, in the role of Uncle Vanya,can pin any wrestler-of course, only if he's lying on a sofa.How many have been defeated by me!Almost unbelievable:Sidorenko, Karpenko, Enko.4,5,16,28,fortyteen.Who, who hasn't been beaten yet?All material appearing in parentheses has been added by the translator.

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THECHAMPIONSHIPFTHEUNIVERSALLASSTRUGGLEButI'm not a wrestlertoday,I'ma referee.Now there'll be achampionshipmatch:not an ordinary ight-but a classstruggle.Now before your very eyes-the noblest nobles-athleteswillstrutbyin well-matchedpairs:they'rehere to eliminate each other.ParadeAllez!The Entente-LloydGeorge-Look,young andold,nephews and nieces,aunts and uncles!Alleyes open wide! See!Look, irstrow.Look,second and third.Look,fourth and fifth.Sixth, ook.Look,seventhand the eighth, too-a more disgustingmugyou'll never see.Fattenedon the workingman'sblood,hischeeks alone weigh seventy pounds.Now he wants to heavehispaunchinesson top of the RSFSR.1Before,Ententefought alone,but now that he's grownflabbyandfat,he is incitingothers.At firstthe Polishgentryhe urged.Butnow it'sWrangelhe hasspurred.Wilson-He isthe AmericanChampion.Disregardhisscragginess.Hispower isfrightful.Expansions his chief force.He has the devil's luck.Just ryto attackhimthere across the seas and oceans;

'RussianovietFederativeocialist epublic.

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VLADIMIRMAYAKOVSKYbut in time his own workers,afterall,will force himto fall.[turning o one of the athletes]Don'tworry,wrestler,he's not verylikable.Primarily,he isfightingfora prize.Howfriendlyhe iswithEntente-even though he nearlygnawed through histhroatbecause of a Germansubmarine.

Millerand-France.Unexpectedlyafighteremerges from a Frenchman.Yes,hisbelly isspillingover already.He issuch a glutton;he's more so than Lloyd George himself.[turning o the spectators]If,insteadof joiningthe RedArmy,you blinkyoureyes at me,you, too, willbe gobbled up.

Pilsudski-Poland.Once, he fought successfully;nowhe doesn't want to fight any more,but he still has it his own way.Having rested,he threatensto pounce on the RSFSR.Instead of gasping for breath,the Polecatches hisbreath.

Sidorov-speculator,ourcountryman.One hundredseventy-fivepounds of fine flourhe lifts withone hand.He bearshighthe fine flour,while bearingdown on us with it.These profiteers-

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THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE UNIVERSALCLASS STRUGGLE

they are like stones inone's intestines.It'sas ifone hadjusteaten:Theyfill one's belly,but inthe endone dies from them:Devastationcorrodes like an ulcer.[turning o Sidorov]Don'tworry,wrestler,it's a good deal; fightingagainst he RSFSR.[tothe spectators]He'llfighta littlelonger,he'llsmugglefive deals-then he'll runup againstthe Moscow Cheka.2

Wrangel-Crimea.The sixth wrestler.Standup, everyone.Standcapless.AutocratGurzuski.3Oh, how terrible!Uf!One, two, he subdued Gurzuf.On his head a papakha4hislegs in Moroccan leather.The Gurzuf nationcalled himCzar-all the Gurzufs.He hasverylittlepower:The Frenchacesinflatehimfrombehind, likea bubble.Topreventthis cur fromgrowing,he mustbe beatenwhile he is weak.Ifbattlefield and home frontjoin together,one fist willbe raisedandthisfistwillstrike-his imperialmajestywillburst orsure.To the front,brothers!It's ime to fight!

2Police.3Gurzufs a cityinthe Crimea,whichwasoccupied duringthis period byWrangel.4Caucasian atmade of sheepskin.

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VLADIMIRMAYAKOVSKYAprelev-Who knowsfromwhere.He is neitherthe devil'sadvocate,nor God'srighthand.Nor does he sit in council;nor is he dispatchedto the All-RussianCheka.Neitherproletarian,nor nonproletarian;neithercapitalist,nornoncapitalist.Inchby inch,he creeps before everyone like a worm.Ididn'twant to accept him,thinking-among the biggerones he'd get lost.Buthe begged a lot."I," he said,"even though I'ma Menshevik,Ireallywant to fight now."However,someone likethatcan be a littleterrifying.Heloves unlawfulwaysso muchthat he fightsbytripping everyone.Introductionsarefinished.Thischampionshipmatchhas been arrangedby me,andall these gentlemen have arrived.Whyhaveall these gentlemen arrived?

CHORUS OF VOICESThesegentlemen havearrivedto get at each other'sthroats.

REFEREEAndnow,throwsome bones to the gentlemen fighters.

[Throw n: a crown, a huge gold coin, and a bag with the inscription:"profitfrom animperialistwar."LloydGeorge and Millerandbegin fightingforthe profit,Wilsonandthe Profiteer for the gold coin, Wrangeland the PolishLordfor the crown. Thered-hairedMenshevik isstaggeringand getting undereveryone's feet.]

REFEREEItbegins!

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MILLERANDReferee sir,it's your job.Stop the damned Lloyd George:he's biting!

WRANGELKeep the Menshevik away.He's wriggling under everyone's feet.

LLOYD GEORGEOch-och-och,what is he doing with my head?!

REFEREESilence! Seizing heads isn't permitted.

POLISH LORDStop Wrangel, he's biting my thighs!

REFEREEThey're casting care to the winds.They're squabbling!They'll bite each other to death-They must be separated.

[Whistle. The last fighter, Revolution, enters.]REFEREE

Revolution-the world champion.The last to come out.Look, how suddenly everything becomes quiet.

REVOLUTIONComrade referee,explain:Ichallenge all these fighters.How many of you, dried, will make a pound?

[The fighters interrupting each other.]

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VLADIMIRMAYAKOVSKYPOLISH LORD

Idon't wantto fight.MENSHEVIK

It'snot an intelligentoccupation.WILSON

I'm not hired to fightyou, either.MILLERAND

[to Lloyd George]Youcreep forward.

LLOYDGEORGENo, you.

MILLERANDNo, you.

EVERYONE,n chorusLethimgo,He'sstronger.Go on, Entente.[Revolutioncatches up the Ententeand in a minutethrowshimover by takinghim byhis head.]

REFEREEThatyou call a "headcircle tie-up."Andnow,usinga littlebitof Red-Army tyleto pin himdown-Ententewill be flaton hisback.

[Both fightersbecome tired. It isdifficultto finishoff Entente.]REFEREE

Neither sidecanovercome the other.Armistice.

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Phooey!Breakfor ten minutes.In ten minutes, the fight for the decision.ENTENTE

Breakfor ten minutes?Hardly.Ithink they broke me not for ten minutesbut for a lifetime.[Revolution leaves, and behind him Entente is pushed out in a wheelbarrow.]

REFEREEIntermission for ten minutes.All you who wantthe Redsto win after the ten-minute break,should go homeand tomorrow go to the front as volunteers-to wring Wrangel's neck.Iamreadyto go there today.To get there fasterI'lleven take a carriage.

Translatedby FRANTISEK EAK

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The Championship of the Universal Class Struggle