The museum collection houses a reissue of the first collection of poems by Vladimir Vysotsky “The Nerve”, which was published in 1981, largely thanks to the efforts of Robert Rozhdestvensky. The poet compiled the collection and headed a commission, which was specifically established to study the literary heritage of Vladimir Vysotsky. It included actors, directors, poets — everyone for whom it was important that Vysotsky can take a deserved place in the literary history.

At the same time, he emphasized that “his Vysotsky” was a collection of poems, not the songs. The poet repeatedly said that he believed it to be his duty to draw the attention of the public to the great importance of Vysotsky’s poetry in Russian literature.

In those times, the appearance of book like that was a notable event and a very brave act on Rozhdestvensky’s part. During Vysotsky’s lifetime, not a single book of his was published, as he had the reputation of a bard. The establishment of the commission and the start of the work on the collection was a decisive moment in this story. Many people were waiting for this book, but it never appeared on the market. The first edition of 55 thousand copies was too small — it was sold out instantly.

At the same time, the preparation of Vladimir Vysotsky’s poetry collection was not an easy job for Rozhdestvensky. During this work, he complained: “Nothing is working out: the songs are sung, and the poems can’t be read”. In the preface to the collection, the poet notes:

After going through a lot of options, Rozhdestvensky decided to title the book “The Nerve”. Today, the number of books with Vysotsky’s songs and poems has exceeded a hundred, but it was the release of “The Nerve” with the preface by Rozhdestvensky that became a true breakthrough and largely determined the attitude to Vysotsky and his art.