Wladimir kaminer biography of william

Boris Fishman interviewed Wladimir Kaminer September 3, 2003.

Boris Fishman: Did you start writing before emigrating to Germany? What did you do in the Soviet Union?

Wladimir Kaminer: In the Soviet Union, I graduated from music school, with a concentration in music for theatre and television.

I worked for a year, then went into the army, got out in 1989.

Wladimir kaminer biography of william

By then, perestroika was in full swing, and many of my colleagues were rushing to take advantage of the increased freedom of movement by going to work in other countries, to acquaint themselves with the world. One guy I knew went to Hollywood–in fact, a whole class of MkhAT [the renowned Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre] students went there to study–one guy to Holland, one to Austria.

So I thought I should, too.

BF: Why East Germany?

WK: I was young–twenty-two–so nobody was really calling for me. I had friends there that I had met in Moscow. This was 1990, you didn’t need a visa, not even a passpor