A resident of Novopolotsk has collected a collection of 3,000 vinyl records and rare record players

Anatoly Besperstykh from Novopolotsk, a former teacher of Russian language and literature and a seasoned collector, donated one-third of his book collection, which numbered 10,000 volumes, to the schools where he worked, the A. Pushkin City Library, the Polotsk Museum of Printing, and readers like himself. He donated 2,500 rare badges to the Novopolotsk History Museum. His music collection of 3,000 vinyl records and 400 magnetic tape reels with recordings is still kept at home, along with record players and tape recorders.

– When records were popular, like many at the time, I bought them for pleasure. After giving up collecting stamps and badges, I decided to create (as nature abhors a vacuum) a collection titled "The History of Russian Song." This took 25 years. I brought home records in stacks from specialized stores that used to be in every city. I listened to them to improve my mood or before sleep. I don't sing myself, but I can identify performers' voices almost flawlessly, – says Anatoly Besperstykh.

He collected records with songs performed by Fyodor Chaliapin, Isabella Yurieva, Leonid Sobinov, Sergey Lemeshev, Lidiya Ruslanova, Klavdiya Shulzhenko... and so on, up to modern pop and bard performers. From Russian classics, he has all the works of Mikhail Glinka, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergey Rachmaninoff, and other outstanding composers. From foreign music, Bach's music is most fully represented. There are many discs with recordings of poetry, fairy tales, and even speeches by the leader of the world proletariat, Lenin. He made tape recordings from radio and television broadcasts.

He kept a meticulous inventory of this sound wealth, but only half of the records have been cataloged – it's a very labor-intensive job. Some catalog notebooks are dedicated to large-format song discs, medium-format records, mini-discs, and flexible discs, while others are dedicated to classical music and literary genres. All magnetic tape reels have been fully described.

While compiling handwritten catalogs by performers, poets, and composers, Anatoly Pavlovich simultaneously studied their works and the history of musical compositions. He knew, for example, by heart all the songs written to the words of Mikhail Isakovsky and other poets.

The music collection, like the book collection, helped teacher Anatoly Besperstykh in his work. When studying Alexander Pushkin's story "Dubrovsky", he would suggest that schoolchildren listen to an excerpt from Eduard Napravnik's opera of the same name, and when studying the novel "Eugene Onegin", he would play an aria from Pyotr Tchaikovsky's opera. In one of the schools, Anatoly Pavlovich voluntarily led a club similar to the popular TV show "Guess the Tune", in addition to telling students about the authors and the history of creation of a particular song.

– Collectors are people who treat their possessions very carefully. I only put records on the player or tapes on the recorder myself, even for my wife, children, and grandchildren. I never lent them to friends or acquaintances. Just like books. At the same time, no one left me without a gifted book, – says the collector.

In the age of the Internet, records are an artifact, a testament to cultural history, a collector's item, or a museum exhibit. Although, they say, vinyl is making a comeback, but it's a trend. No one in Novopolotsk has such a large collection of records as Anatoly Pavlovich. Previously, local collectors, as well as those from Polotsk, Vitebsk, and Daugavpils, used to meet and exchange acquisitions, but in the 1990s, they were more likely to sell their collections than to increase them.

– I am ready to offer the collection to the museum, but only as a whole, as it is a kind of artwork. I don't intend to make money from it. However, if I give the collection away for free, it means that the new owners can do as they please with it at any moment. Therefore, the second condition is that at least a symbolic fee should be a guarantee of the preservation and responsibility for the records and reels, – Anatoly Pavlovich explains the reason for his concern.

Once, for similar reasons, Anatoly Besperstykh offered the Museum of History of Novopolotsk 2.5 thousand badges at 20 kopecks each. They were cataloged as individual storage units and have remained intact to this day.

Anatoly Pavlovich has not listened to about ten percent of his sound collection, just as he has not read all the books he has collected. But he does not regret the money spent on the records and the time spent collecting them. Because the search was driven, and still warms his soul, as he says, by "ordinary love for music".

Galina Shpakovskaya, "Vitebskiye Vesti"