Soviet Songwriter Honored 7 Years Late

Songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky, whose hugely popular songs were often available only on underground recordings, has won official recognition in the form of a state prize more than seven years after his death.

Soviet television said Vysotsky, who died in July, 1980, at age 42 after years of hard drinking, was among a long list of cultural personalities awarded the State Prize of the USSR for 1987 before today’s ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Vysotsky, who has acquired the status of a national folk hero, was honored for his gravelly-voiced musical rendition of poetry.

Most of his songs were never recorded at official studios during his lifetime but were circulated widely on privately made tapes. In an easing of cultural restraint under Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev, more records are now appearing.