By Vestnik Kavkaza
Recently Nadezhda Babkina, Soviet and Russian folk singer, founder and leader of the Ensemble "Russian Song", has become a People’s Artist of Ingushetia. She was awarded for contribution to organization of the concert devoted to the 20th anniversary of the republic.
- You are firmly associated with Russian songs. What was participation in the concert devoted to Ingushetia for you?
- The year is coming to an end, and every time in the year, every departing year there is always something meaningful and important. I am a creative person and active and for the last 37 years I have been the head of a state Ensemble that I created 37 years ago, and I am trying to honorably hold high the banner of Russian national culture. During this period of my life I have certainly accumulated great experience. Experience in organizing and experience in responsibility. Upon completion of the year you begin to recall all the most important, significant and momentous moments. For me this year, at the end of the year no global events are expected, they have all been completed. The highlight was the twentieth anniversary of the republic of Ingushetia and the participation in this celebration. I'll tell you that for me it was something new, responsible. For me it was as if I entered into some water I had never entered before, and it was necessary to swim and swim, feel the two beaches and swim, swim as well as do something, etc. I would like to say that I got the words, "tired", "it was so difficult" etc. It's all so stupid! These are absolutely productive moments. But when you see the result, when this nerve beats during every presentation, during the opening of a memorial, Halva, equestrian events, a huge flow of people moving across the square, a spectacle in a theater, which was built just for this date... When you see the nerves behind the scenes, not on the other side of it, you feel alive. People believed in festivities, and people took to the streets, everyone. Both old and young alike. Who went with what? Come guess! But they did go, that means they wanted to believe, wanted to keep faith back in life in order to have fewer disappointments.
We have had too many disappointments in recent years. This concerns not only Ingushetia, it concerns all of our Russia. And when these islands suddenly begin to instill in a person a kind of goodness and confidence increases, he wants to go. Why don't I go look at this event? You know, I think that we have succeeded.
- Do you understand the Caucasus and its traditions better now?
- It was not easy to form a team, because I had to understand what kind of people will take responsibility, because the Caucasus is a serious matter, there are hot-blooded temperamental people. Each nation in the Caucasus has its own tradition, despite the unity. You would think that the surrounding mountains keep everything together, and yet each nation has its own traditions. And in this situation it is necessary to understand and to respect and hear certain existing nuances. It worked out and I got a great impression. I reviewed it one week later, because it was impossible to objectively analyse it, because there was noise in my ears, my head was in full swing, my heart was pounding: was it that or this, was it right or wrong, did I offend anyone? All the time it was on the verge of terrible. A week later, when everything went back to normal, I started to think about it and I thought: 'No, everything was fine." Even if there were some little things, someone, for example, did not have time to get to the concert, someone was late to enter the hall, we had to take down the gate. This suggests that men in Ingushetia started to have a growing need for positivity and for better. My God, it is such happiness, you know. I honestly felt great happiness, and it all turned out so well.
Of course, the prime minister from morning to night, all the time kept abreast, constant reports were sent to the President, but in a way that would allow him to remain engaged in public affairs, while the prime minister did both. And his lovely wife, who talked to me of the subtleties and peculiarities of the people - this is very important. For example, certain female traditions, certain male traditions should be understood, they should not be confused all together and they should be treated with understanding and honoured. We considered all these details.
Then of course, there are also small kids... Nevertheless they are children of the Caucasus, Ingush children, and one has to understand that they are educated at home, they have parents, it means that one should talk with them in the same way as you talk to adults, because they are already in this tradition, they were born with this. In short, I felt... You know, for me this year this has been a momentous event, which I rely on and which I go back to. So I hope that we will continue the work, activities with Ingushetia. There can be tons of projects, I have had a great experience, as has my team. Actually, other artists will catch up as well, someone had to start, you know. Therefore, I think that everything will work out. You know, we should believe in it. This is the first thing. And secondly, it is necessary not only to believe, but also to do things. The most important strategic resource for any republic or state are people, with all their differences, and it is necessary to pay attention to them. I love different people with different shades of clothing, culture, different behaviour, with national traditions, I love and I respect them, because I represent Russian culture. And I really want the culture of the Russian people to always respect the traditions of any other culture, I want it very much. It is easier to exist this way. In the sense that it strengthens a certain stability of our state, it strengthens mutual understanding and brings a smile of goodness and interaction. So I wish prosperity to this beautiful country, I wish you good and high quality children. I wish the tradition to evolve and I wish people to be filled with respect for each other.
