eSamizdat. Rivista di culture dei paesi slavi / Journal of Slavic Cultures / Журнал славянских культур

History of the Literary Institutions in the Soviet Union and Beyond. An Introduction

Evgeny Dobrenko — 2025-02-03

Introduction and preliminary remarks by the editors of the section “History of the Literary Institutions in the Soviet Union and Beyond”.

The Publishing House “World Literature” as the First Soviet Literary Institution: History in Documents

Marina Arias-Vikhil’ — 2025-02-03

The World Literature Publishing House (1918-1924), founded on the initiative of Maxim Gorky, is the first Soviet literary publishing institution designed to ensure interaction between the new government and the broadest literary and scientific circles of the Russian intelligentsia. As an institutional association of writers, scientists, translators and editors, the publishing house developed the principles of its existence in accordance with the complex socio-political and economic situation of the first years of revolutionary transformations in the country. Based on the documents of the A.M. Gorky Archive of the Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a digital archive of the publishing house vsemirka-doc.ru was created as part of the Russian Science Foundation project “The History of the World Literature Publishing House in Documents: the Fate of the Creative Intelligentsia of Russia in the Post-Revolutionary Space through the Prism of the Maxim Gorky Publishing Project”. Thanks to the project, researchers can gain access to previously unknown documents, in particular, to the minutes of the Editorial Board meetings, which shed light on the methods and principles of the publishing house’s work during the first six post-revolutionary years.

“New literature does not emerge like a pistol shot in the night”. On the Institutional Boundaries of the First Soviet Mass Writers’ Associations

Dar’ia Moskovskaia — 2025-02-03

The article discusses early Soviet literary institutions that took on the mission of uniting the writers’ forces: VAPP (the All-Russian Association of Proletarian Writers), whose institutional practices exhibit a pronounced sectarian nature and confrontational strategies, closely related to the early Proletkul’t, and demonstrate a distinctly ‘creative’ class-based nature; FOSP (the Federation of Soviet Writers), whose institutional nature was instrumental and artificial, this institution being “the first real example of the party’s concern for establishing basic conditions for the growth of new culture in the early years of the new regime” (Metcalf); and the Organizing Committee of the Union of Soviet Writers (SSP), which, despite sharing some similarities with FOSP, fundamentally differed from the latter through direct party leadership and funding, and gradually became a state structure – the Union of Soviet Writers. The article examines the dynamics of the Organizing Committee’s structure, marked by an increasing ‘clarification’ of who held ultimate authority. These dynamics include nationwide tense discussions among writers about funding mechanisms, continued ‘showdowns’ with enemy-colleagues, the development of the concept of socialist realism as a method for unifying writers of various social backgrounds, the “organization of total control in the literary sphere” (Frezinskii), and the complete loss (through the Charter and other practices) of institutionally formalized creative freedom for members of the Writers’ Union.

The Stalin Prize for Literature: The Institutional Dimension of the Aesthetics of Socialist Realism (1940-1950s)

Dmitry Tsyganov — 2025-02-03

The article considers the Stalin Prize for Literature as an institution that had a direct impact on the formation of the socialist realist canon. The study not only contextualizes the institutional cultural history of late Stalinism, but also attempts to discover the inherent stabilising potential of this institution, which ensured the integrity of the cultural continuum of the late Stalinist era through which the profound transformation of mass consciousness was carried out. Using a wide range of factual material, it is shown that in the 1940s and early 1950s the institution of the prize in the minds of Stalinist functionaries also began to be perceived as one of the main instruments for structuring the world political space. Along with the analysis of archival materials of the Committee for the Stalin Prizes in Literature and Arts (Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, f. 2073) and materials of the Committee for the International Stalin Prizes (State Archive of the Russian Federation, f. 9522), we also draw on materials from the fonds of various organisations and bodies, as well as periodicals of those years, published memoirs, diary/memoirs and other materials available to us.

The Foreign Commission of the Soviet Writers’ Union in 1950s-1960s: Boundaries, Obstacles, Tricks, Embarrassment, Impact

Kristina Buynova — 2025-02-03

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Foreign Commission of the Soviet Writers’ Union occupied the niche of mediator in relations between Western literature and the USSR. It was essentially a propaganda institution that inherited the traditions of MORP and VOKS. This alone suggests an active, perhaps even aggressive, style of recruiting among foreign writers. In this article I will show that the reality was different. Party patronage and the constant manipulation of the ‘rules of the game’ excluded any proactivity on the part of the Commission. Although the aim of the Foreign Commission was to ‘broaden contacts’, it tended to concentrate on strengthening existing ones. In selecting new contacts, the FC relied on the assessments of translators, writers and critics rather than on party preferences, and then presented itself as a ‘progressive’ entity. The visit of the latter would become a kind of consummation of the relationship. The FC was keen to please its guests, so any awkward situations were carefully smoothed over by the consultants, or ‘minders’, as the foreigners called them. There could be no official instructions, but a number of tricks and stratagems – evasion, stalling, shifting attention, citing temporary circumstances – were more or less clear to the staff.

Scandal in the Late Soviet Writer’s Ego-Documents: An Attempt at “Thick Description”

Maria Mayofis — 2025-02-03

The article explores the nuanced meanings of ‘scandal’ within the late Soviet writers’ milieu. By carefully examining word usage within the specific era and cultural context, the author demonstrates that during the late Soviet period, literary scandal was deeply intertwined with the concept of censorship. In certain instances, a literary scandal was anticipated following the publication of ‘dangerous’ or ‘undesirable’ texts that potentially challenged the ideological purity and ethical integrity of the Soviet system – a meaning relatively consistent across early and late Soviet periods. At times, a scandal was expected as a consequence of publicizing the very fact of literary censorship and the suppression of works in the USSR, as well as the persecution of writers for their literary output. Since the primary audience for such scandals was international public opinion, prominent writers frequently leveraged the threat of an ‘international scandal’ to secure desired outcomes from editors, censors, and – most critically – special ‘curators’ responsible for overseeing literature on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The article suggests that from the mid-1950s onward, Soviet writers began to strategically instrumentalize the concept of literary scandal, even asserting that party and literary officials themselves provoked such controversies through excessive prohibitive measures and violations of established ‘rules of the game’.

Al confine tra ufficialità e underground. Forme di istituzionalizzazione della ‘seconda cultura’ sovietica

Alice Bravin — 2025-02-03

From the second half of the 1970s, some organizations of unofficial and independent artists and writers were created in the Soviet Union, which were officially recognized by Soviet authorities: in 1976 in the Moscow City Committee of Graphic Artists a section of painting was set up that united non-formal artists who exhibited their works in the halls in Malaia Gruzinskaia street; in 1981 in Leningrad the literary club “Klub-81” was created, a unique organization of unsanctioned writers under the direct control of the KGB; in 1985 an alternative literary association, the “Klub Poeziia”, was also founded in Moscow. These institutions represented a forum for discussions and interaction between the members of the unofficial culture, but at the same time they were under the jurisdiction of Soviet law and combined functions and features like any other official Soviet institution. The aim of this paper is to investigate the role and structures of these ambiguous and alternative organizations, on the border between official and non-official culture.

The Form and Functioning of the Union of Czechoslovak Writers in the Late 1940s and Early 1950s in the Context of Czech Literature

Michal Bauer — 2025-02-03

The study examines the transformation of the Syndicate of Czech Writers into the Union of Czechoslovak Writers at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, when the writers’ association turned into an ideological organisation fully dependent on official politics. The destruction of private publishing houses and the grouping into large, state-owned ones, is examined and analysed. The paradoxical role of writers and artists after 1948, i.e. to serve and to lead at the same time, is also discussed.

L’arte e l’uomo eterno (traduzione di Luca Bernardini)

Zygmunt Wasilewski — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of the chapter Opowieść i Poezja in O sztuce i człowieku wiecznym by Zygmunt Wasilewski.

FOTO CINEMA FILM (traduzione di Martina Mecco)

Karel Teige — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of the article FOTO KINO FILM by Karel Teige.

La pittura nel film (traduzione di Luca Bernardini)

Karol Irzykowski — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Malarstwo w filmie, in Dziesiąta muza. Zagadnienia estetyczne kina by Karol Irzykowski.

Cinematografo: uno spettacolo delle maschere (traduzione di Olga Trukhanova)

Mykola Ljadov — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Kinematohraf – vydovys’ko masok by Mykola Liadov.

Note sulla teoria dell’arte cinematografica (traduzione di Kateryna Mychka)

Leonid Skrypnyk — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of the 5^th chapter of Narysy z teoriji mystectva kino by Leonid Skrypnyk.

Elementi stilistici nell’arte cinematografica (traduzione di Olga Trukhanova)

Oleksij Poltorac’kyj — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Stylistyčni elementy kino-mystectva by Oleksij Poltorac’kyj.

Le leggi pittoriche nei problemi del cinema (traduzione di Martina Morabito)

Kazimir Malevič — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Zhivopisnye zakony v problemakh kino by Kazimir Malevich.

Il cinema e la pittura (traduzione di Maria Teresa Badolati)

Michail Cechanovskij — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Kino i zhivopis’ by Mikhail Tsekhanovskii.

Cinema e pittura (traduzione di Tamara Đokić)

Vladimir Petrić — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Film i slikarstvo by Vladimir Petrić.

La staffetta delle arti. Un gorilla in un negozio di antiquariato (traduzione di Chiara Rampazzo)

Sergej Obrazcov — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Estafeta iskusstv. Glava vos’maia. Gorilla v antikvarnom magazine by Sergei Obraztsov.

La stilizzazione del costume sul palcoscenico e nel film (traduzione di Tamara Đokić)

Milica Babić-Jovanović — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Stilizacija kostima na pozornici i na filmu by Milica Babić-Jovanović.

L’interno e l’esterno. Le rovine e la città. Vertov, Ėjzenštejn, Piranesi (traduzione di Claudia Fiorito)

Michail Jampol’skij — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Vneshnee i vnutrennee. Ruiny i gorod. Vertov, Ėizenshtein, Piranesi by M. Iampol’skii.

Il cinema come codice visuale (traduzione di Alice Bravin)

Marija Kuvšinova — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Dvizhenie i telo; Kino v vizual’nom potoke, in Kino kak vizual’nyi kod by Maria Kuvshinova.

Letteratura e storia. Le metodologie possibili

Guido Carpi — 2025-02-03

The texts presented here are the transcription – later enriched in the editing phase – of the round table Literature and History. Possible Approaches, which took place on 16 May 2024 as part of the courses of the PhD programme in Literary, Linguistic and Comparative Studies at the University of Naples L’Orientale. The round table was attended by four Italian scholars specialising in Russian studies, respectively from L’Orientale, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Milan, and the University of Salerno, together with PhD students from the Neapolitan university and the other universities involved.

Theory in the Humanities: Functions and Practices. A Conversation between Mikhail Velizhev and Andrei Zorin

Mikhail Velizhev — 2025-02-03

This conversation between scholars Mikhail Velizhev and Andrei Zorin covers why theory is needed in the humanities, the functions of theory in humanities education, the role of theory in Andrei Zorin’s research, theory in the United States and Europe, the situation of theory in Russia, and the methodological preferences of the two scholars.

“Odi et amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris”. Riflessioni ad alta voce di giovani slavisti

Collettivo Giovani Slavisti — 2025-02-03

The paper analyses the current situation of PhD students and post-doctoral researchers in Slavic Studies, with a special focus on the Italian context. In the summer of 2024, the Young Slavists Collective sent an anonymous questionnaire to a sample of young Italian scholars. The main aim was to explore and discuss some relevant issues by collecting their personal experiences, beliefs, and criticisms.

Cezanne amava le mele kazake

Andrej Sen-Sen’kov — 2025-02-03

Italian translation of Sezan liubil kazakhskie iabloki by Andrei Sen-Sen’kov.