What do you think?
Rate this book
Сталин и писатели
Stalin i pisateli Kniga 1
Stalin personally supervised Russian literature and "took care" of his own writers. The most talented and famous of them were persecuted, exiled, or frightened, if not to death, then to losing their ability to write. Benedikt Sarnov intends to explore the individual cases of twenty writers. This first volume includes the cases of Gor'kii, Maiakovskii, Pasternak, Mandel'shtam, Dem'ian Bednyi, and Erenburg. In next Afinogenov, Akhmatova, Babel', Bulgakov, N. Erdman, Fadeev, M. Kol'tsov, Pil'niak, Platonov, Sholokhov, Simonov, A.N. Tolstoi, Zamiatin, and Zoshchenko. Standing order is available. Also available by the same Oprokinutaia Kupel' (1997); Esli by Pushkin Zhil v Nashe Vremia... (1998); Perestan'te Udivliat'sia! (1998); Nash Sovetskii Novoiaz (2002); Zanimatel'noe Literaturovedenie, ili Novye Pokhozhdeniie Znakomykh Geroev (2003).
832 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 5, 2009
Instead of reviewing this book, which would largely repeat my older review of book I in the series (Stalin i Pisateli. Kniga 1, I'd better tell you one story I've found in this one.
In 1946 Anna Akhmatova and Mikhail Zoshchenko were attacked by different goverment bodies. They were condemned, their books were forbidden, their food cards were taken away. They were insulted with the baddest words and manners ("bastard", "whore" - in an official document!). There was an official ban by the goverment decree for any publications of their works. Akhmatova's son and husband were arrested (husband later executed). This was a part of big campaign against russian intellectuals, who believed the country shall get more freedom after Great Victory.
Same attacks were made against composers, film-makers, etc.
this tragedy was very well-known in a western world at those times, some researchers even thought it was a start of Cold War and Iron Curtain (exaggerating at best of course)
Several years after large group of Oxford students came to Moscow. They expressed their desire to meet cursed and slandered writers.
This meeting has happened in one of the main soviet halls. all the higher-ups of the soviet state were present. Akhmatova and Zoshenko knew they will be asked by those students about decree and they had two choices: either tell them what they really think and be punished even more or tell the students about their consent with the decree and get away with this.
Akhmatova is sitting on the stage and looking, searching: who, who will be THAT guy who will ask. And there was one and another. First one asked Zoshenko and Zoshenko said he didn't understand the decree and never agreed with it. After that he was maltreated all over again and died. Akhmatova said she accepts everything as right. Goverment left her alone and ten years after she came to Oxford as a tourist.
In 1946 Anna Akhmatova and Mikhail Zoshchenko were attacked by different goverment bodies. They were condemned, their books were forbidden, their food cards were taken away. They were insulted with the baddest words and manners ("bastard", "whore" - in an official document!). There was an official ban by the goverment decree for any publications of their works. Akhmatova's son and husband were arrested (husband later executed). This was a part of big campaign against russian intellectuals, who believed the country shall get more freedom after Great Victory.
Same attacks were made against composers, film-makers, etc.
this tragedy was very well-known in a western world at those times, some researchers even thought it was a start of Cold War and Iron Curtain (exaggerating at best of course)
Several years after large group of Oxford students came to Moscow. They expressed their desire to meet cursed and slandered writers.
This meeting has happened in one of the main soviet halls. all the higher-ups of the soviet state were present. Akhmatova and Zoshenko knew they will be asked by those students about decree and they had two choices: either tell them what they really think and be punished even more or tell the students about their consent with the decree and get away with this.
Akhmatova is sitting on the stage and looking, searching: who, who will be THAT guy who will ask. And there was one and another. First one asked Zoshenko and Zoshenko said he didn't understand the decree and never agreed with it. After that he was maltreated all over again and died. Akhmatova said she accepts everything as right. Goverment left her alone and ten years after she came to Oxford as a tourist.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews