The Strannik Grigori Rasputin I’ve come to your châteaux I, the strannik Grigori in the dark of midnight’s stroke why’ve you summoned me? My burning eyes can bore into your black heart’s soul my hand can heal a horse or rule the world the further I fall from Heaven’s gates the saintlier I shall rise the more I sin, the more I’m forgiven in grace till I’m the brightest star in God’s celestial paradise I see the future’s face in my dreams, Mary comes only my hands can save your only son Soon, spirits will drown in mud Old Russia’s sacred light— oceans of tears and blood: eternal night the further I fall from Heaven’s gates the saintlier I shall rise the more I sin, the more I’m forgiven in grace till I’m the brightest star in God’s celestial paradise I’ve come to your châteaux I, the strannik Grigori in the dark of midnight’s stroke why’ve you summoned me? I’ll eat your cyanide cakes I’ll drink your poisoned wine ‘cause I will never die ‘cause I’m divine Luring the devil to his elegant manor at midnight with the implicit promise of sex with his beautiful wife, Princess Irina, the noble Yusupov fed him with great quantities of cyanidelaced food and drink, yet Rasputin still refused to die. So Yusupov shot him. Sometime later, Yusupov returned to the scene of the grisly deed, only to be attacked by the yet-living man whom he had shot. In the ensuing pandemonium, the wild-eyed, drug-addled mystic managed to crawl his way outside, blustering hysterically that he would tell the Tzarina as he was shot twice more by Yusupov and twice more after that by the Tzar’s own cousin, Pavlovich. They drove him to the River Nevka and threw him into a hole they hacked out of the ice. His mangled cadaver was discovered by peasants two days later with water in the lungs, meaning that he died by drowning. The royal family alone attended the funeral. Shortly after the Tzar abdicated, Russian soldiers dug up the corpse of Rasputin and burned it. How can you know that someone is really gone? & how can you be sure that they ever were even here & how does it feel: alone and cold at bitter dawn unsure of what is real, knowing only you want to disappear

Ivan the Terrible Ivan, Ivan the Terrible He was Russia’s first tzar, he centralized power oprickniki enforced his will killing plotting boyars his mind was somehow ill he hurled his line downhill for mercury caused him to slay his son best fit to rule Ivan, Ivan the Terrible He kissed the ground to pray he thought God marked him saved the domes he raised in Moscow’s core were built on Basil’s grave he tortured bears & birds, put Novgorod to sword hundreds of thousands tasted death in Ivan’s hungry wars Russia was in tatters after Ivan’s terror-reign Siberia was gathered yet the Ruriks were unmade the Time of Troubles followed where two million starved in vain if only some Apollo stopped his filicidal blade Ivan, Ivan the Terrible his men loved rape & theft his ears loved tortured breath he murdered all imagined foes until no one was left he conquered Kazan’s snow he safeguarded Moscow yet when he tried to reach the sea he won only sorrow Russia was in tatters after Ivan’s terror-reign Siberia was gathered yet the Ruriks were unmade the Time of Troubles followed where two million starved in vain if only some Apollo stopped his filicidal blade Ivan, Ivan the Terrible Ivan the Terrible Ivan the Terrible, Ivan

Chay cold are the nights short is the day when you're in town come by for chay we'll have a chat, a little cake passing the time is so hard now days drinking tea is not chopping firewood & visiting is good but home is better so have a cup of tea and you'll forget longing 'cause what's the point of life if you aren't drinking chay? over the steppe the moon frowns like death wolves howl & weep in the taiga's deep come by some time & take some sup you'll not be bored you'll drain seven cups drinking tea is not chopping firewood & visiting is good but home is better so have a cup of tea and you'll forget longing 'cause what's the point of life if you aren't drinking chay?

Battle on the Ice Alexander Nevsky ordered the army to fall back the arrogant crusaders spurred their horses to attack but the spears of Novgorod stopped their coursers' furious charge and on the ice of Peipus the two enemies embraced and on the surface of that frozen lake, they played death's hockey for two hours or so till Nevsky ordered his cavalry and his left and right wings to close which caused the Teutonic knights great panic and dread and towards the lake's far shore they cowardly fled but as they vainly rushed towards that distant coast, the ice broke and drowned them dead

The Lady with the Dog It was said that someone new had recently arrived. No one knew her, yet they saw her walk near the seaside. She had fair hair, wore a beret, and was medium height, & with her walked her little dog that was the colour white. How could they be free?-- two birds caged separately; they knew not what would come yet felt they weren't yet done. She had a husband who she felt behaved just like a slave, & finally she couldn't take it-- she had to get away. She went to Yalta where so many romances were set & after five monotonous days, taboo desire met. How could they be free?-- two birds caged separately; they knew not what would come yet felt they weren't yet done. He had a wife who thought she was an intellectual, but he despised her because he thought she really was quite dull. He'd had affairs, but never felt the way that he felt now-- with the lady with the dog, it felt different somehow. How could they be free?-- two birds caged separately; they knew not what would come yet felt they weren't yet done.

Baba Yaga She lives deep, deep in the forest, way, way far out where nobody lives-- deep in the country in a hut that walks on chicken legs through midnight she stalks, riding the air in her cauldron of sleep, looking for children to kidnap & eat: Baba Yaga. Some say she's one & some say she's three: a woman, a crone, & a maid of thirteen; she came from the moon & inside her hut invisible servants do devils know what; if she stares at you a century dreams by as your heart's ensnared by her unblinking eyes: Baba Yaga. "You stink of Russian, "by my bony leg. "If you peek in my hut "you'll crack like an egg "or my keyhole's teeth "will eat your earthly soul "& I'll add your bones & skull "to my skeleton wall. "Turn your back to the forest, "turn your front to me: "only then can you enter "my eternity"-- : Baba Yaga.

The Wood Demon "Ever since she came, "there seems to be a haze "enchanting everyone "so they get nothing done. "My eyes have never seen "a beauty such as she-- "I feel so powerless "yet desperate for her kiss." And nobody sees poor Sonia weep-- no, no one at all, 'cause every man wants the Wood Demon-- they see her & they just want to stare at her, stunned because the Wood Demon makes all men idle; she makes them all irresponsible of everything besides trying to become Don Juan because when they see her, all they want to do is fffffu . . . fffffu . . . fffffffuu . . . forget this ssssssssshhh . . . Oafish ogre greed has hacked millions of trees & with the forests gone, the land has turned to swamp, & like the woods, men all desire to make her fall & destroy all that's right to feed their evil appetites. And nobody sees poor Sonia weep-- no, no one at all, 'cause every man wants the Wood Demon-- they see her & they just want to stare at her, stunned because the Wood Demon makes all men idle; she makes them all irresponsible of everything besides trying to become Don Juan because when they see her, all they want to do is fffffu . . . fffffu . . . fffffffuu . . . forget this ssssssssshhh . . .

The Man of Steel I'm the Man of Steel: my strength turns every wheel, my pen writes every word, my will astounds the world, for I'm the Man of Steel & nothing can be concealed-- my eyes & ears observe everything on earth; though I control the means of production, five years never seems to produce enough; the only answer is blood & destruction when your enemies are everywhere & there's no one you can trust, & I'm the Man of Steel; I don't care how you feel; I don't appease demands-- I grind my foes to sand; though I control the means of production, five years never seems to produce enough; the only answer is blood & destruction when your enemies are everywhere & there's no one you can trust, & I'm the Man of Steel & everyone shall kneel or disappear like mist for I embody all there is.

The Cossack The Cossack just laughed & spat into the sun-- : his last woman had just left him but there'd always be another one 'cause he didn't have much money & he didn't have a job but he knew how to ride & he knew how to rob & life sparkles brighter with cold steel in your hand & when you're a fighter, you just live off the land hundreds of miles east of the Tzar's tyranny;-- you just do as you please out there where it's free, you sing "la la la . . . "

The Devil in the Mind of Ivan Karamazov In a daze, Ivan realized a man was in the room with him though how long he’d been sitting there or even how he’d gotten in were mysteries without answer. “Without suffering “this world has no pleasure “you call me a lie, an illness, “mirage, your mind's invention, “an evil hallucination “of your worst intentions “who you don't believe in “yet can't banish from your head “I am the x “in an indeterminate “math equation “I’m a sort of phantom “in life who has lost all “beginning or end “I’ve even forgotten “my very own name. “What am I on earth “but a poor relation?-- “I become superstitious here “& wander about dreaming “I dream of becoming “a merchant’s fat wife “I dream of believing “the nonsense she believes in. “I am the x “in an indeterminate “math equation “I’m a sort of phantom “in life who has lost all “beginning or end “I’ve even forgotten “my very own name. “If there was an axe “circling earth like a satellite, “astronomers would calculate “its daily rise & set “and I know it's unfashionable “to believe in God nowadays “but I'm not God “so you can still believe in me"

Vodka Vodka, oh Vodka, your kiss is my favorite lover nothing besides her blue eyes of glass; St. Petersburg sunrise like a knife in the back then Baba Yaga gives you a swig of her tears; intoxication lifts you to where pain disappears: Vodka, oh Vodka, without you I just wouldn’t bother Vodka, oh Vodka, you cause my eyes to see clearer Vodka, oh Vodka, there is no one to me dearer Vodka, oh Vodka, your kiss is my favorite lover troubles forgot like Caucasoid whores if rubles you’ve got enough for one more the Firebird’s feather shatters Koschei’s witch-daze yet Perun’s dread weather will never kill Veles;-- Rasputin’s laugh & Subutai’s curse a Rusulka’s death-bath & Catherine the Great’s horse the Tzar’s eyes of glass see all heaven & earth ‘cause at Mendeleev’s flask they're eternally nursed Vodka, oh Vodka, you cause my eyes to see clearer Vodka, oh Vodka, without you I just wouldn’t bother Vodka, oh Vodka, there is no one to me dearer Vodka, oh Vodka, your kiss is my favorite lover

The Widow Korobochka Let me have ‘em I’ll give ya hard cash for their papers, not live souls, Madam it’s only dead souls that I’m after what can they be worth? why, they're nothing but dust-- : dust has no use on earth tell me, what use is it of it’s only dead souls that I’m after what I want them for’s my own affair I’ll rid you of the taxes on these souls I’ll give you fifteen lovely blue rubles so what do you say? now, have you heard what I said?? Mother, it’s not every day that a man will pay for the dead for three rubles less for all of last year your toil and your sweat robbed the bees of their labor in the winter you kept them in your celler on sugar-feed yet now why can’t you accept when you get something for free it’s only dead souls that I’m after what I want them for’s my own affair I’ll rid you of the taxes on these souls I’ll give you fifteen lovely blue rubles what I don’t wonder is that devils don’t come in your dreams by the score Mother, how can you be so dumb who else will buy them what use could they be for scaring crows in the garden Mother, this is why you’re so poor it’s only dead souls that I’m after what I want them for’s my own affair I’ll rid you of the taxes on these souls I’ll give you fifteen lovely blue rubles

Vodyanoi Vodyanoi: "kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa": Vodyanoi far below the sunny lands you know I sit upon my throne while fish lick dead men’s bones "kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa": Vodyanoi deep inside the stagnant swamp I hide though I’m no crocodile I see your star-kissed eyes "kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa": the peasants call me “Vodyanoi” I break their damns & I drown their boys if they don’t pay me sacrifice I rule their lives as a tyrant god "kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa": Vodyanoi if we meet upon some sunken street don’t panic on your knees just know I can be pleased . . . I’ve lived ten thousand years or more & yet my webbed hands still hunger for the necks of men to drag to watery graves to make them my eternal slaves "kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa": Vodyanoi