The Resume

(July 18, 1932-April 1, 2017)
Born in Zima Junction, Russia
Birth name was Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Gangus
Published the poetry collections 'Prospects of the Future' (1951), 'The Heirs of Stalin' (1961), 'Bratsk Station' (1966), 'From Desire to Desire: Love Poems' (1976), 'An Oath to Space' (1978), 'Mother and Neutron Bomb and Other Poems' (1983) and 'Verses on Peace' (1989)
Best-known poem was 'Babi Yar' (1961)
Wrote the novels 'Wild Berries' (1981) and 'Don't Die Before You're Dead' (1993)
Wrote and directed the films 'Kindergarten' (1983) and 'Stalin's Funeral' (1990)
Representative for Kharkov in the Soviet Parliament (1989-91)

Why he might be annoying:

He was married four times, divorced three times (including from fellow poet Bella Akhmadulina).
John Cheever said, 'Yevtushenko has an ego that can crack crystal at a distance of twenty feet.'
His criticisms of the Soviet Union always managed to stop short of the point that could have gotten him jailed or exiled.
Exiled poet Joseph Brodsky said, 'He throws stones only in directions that are officially sanctioned and approved,' and resigned from the American Academy of Arts and Letters when Yevtushenko was named an honorary member.

Why he might not be annoying:

Both his grandfathers died in Stalinist purges.
He was expelled from the Gorky Literary Institute for praising a banned novel, Vladimir Dudintsev's 'Not by Bread Alone.'
He denounced Soviet anti-Semitism in 'Babi Yar.'
Dmitri Shostakovich's 13th Symphony set 'Babi Yar' and four of his other poems to music.
He criticized the Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia (968) and Afghanistan (1979).
He noted, 'I criticized Khrushchev to his face. Not even Solzhenitsyn did that.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Poets
• 21st Century Poets
• An Asteroid was Named in My Honor (Ranked: 4234)
• Artsy/Fartsy Directors
• Breeders [Have 5 or More Kids] (Ranked: 5)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 64]
• I Died in 2017 (Ranked: 83)
• I Died on April Fool's Day - No Foolin' [April 1st] (Ranked: 2017)
• I Married in 1978
• I Married in 1986
• I Sought Political Office
• I Was Expelled From School
• IDs Ending in 00 (Ranked: 38800)
• Look at Me, I've Been Caught Smoking
• Playboy Interview Subjects [1970s] (Ranked: 1972)
• Poets
• Profiles 38751-38951 (Ranked: 38800)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying