The Message of Hate in Babi Yar by Yevgeny Yevtushenko There are very few people in the world who are willing to go against popular trends and do what they feel in their hearts is correct. But Yevgeny Yevtushenko is one of those people. In his poem Babi Yar he tells the story of the modern persecution of the Jews, focusing on atrocities such as those of the Babi Yar massacre and the Beilostok pogroms, but also on the general anti-Semitism that killed men like Dreyfus and pervades the entire Russian people. The poem uses many literary devices, such as graphic images and contrasts, while painting a very clear picture of the scenes of pure horror. Babi Yar is written in many different voices, which, however, all have the same message. The author begins with his perspective, then goes on to describe some people from modern Jewish history whose lives will forever be remembered as symbols of the era. At the end of the poem the author comes back and speaks in his voice, but this time he conveys a message to his people about how they have committed a large number of these crimes against the Jews, yet they think that such actions are pure and good for Russia . By switching from the voice of those so affected by the persecution to that of the accusation, the author effectively highlights how senseless the Russians' arguments are when they attempt to make any case for the killing of millions of Jews. with a description of the Babi Yar ravine. However, all that says is that there is nothing to describe. He calls the steep ravine, which is the grave of a hundred thousand people, the only memorial that is there. This scares the author, because the size... the center of the card... is a symbol of bad times. Then the author compares the two seasons of winter and spring showing how at this time hatred keeps everyone in winter, but once there is peace then spring can begin and life will get better. The rest of the poem focuses on what the Russian people need to do. change their attitude towards Jews. The author first criticizes them for behaving so shamelessly, then states that all Russians who can honestly call themselves such must accept the Jews. Added to this is when it is said that one can only be truly Russian when one suffers the same treatment that the Jews suffer, only when one experiences the same kind of hatred. This final statement is a reversal of the general view of the Russian people and reaffirms how Yevgeny Yevtushenko is a person who is not afraid to go against popular opinion to improve lives..