Looking for a HF novel about SOVIET FUTURISM movement, about 1920's

[Olga]

I've been reading a lot about the Russian Revolution and its consequences - how art, poetry and societal norms completely changed in the years that followed. Specifically, the time of futurism, free love, etc. in the 1920s, before gulag, before "no sex in soviet union"... Now, I'm looking for a more relatable book about this time in the form of historical fiction. Any recommendations?

[C.P.]

I don't know a lot of fiction about that period. Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay is a bit later, I think, but a lovely book.

Two you might check (I own both but have yet to read either) are Sashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore and The Commissariat of Enlightenment by Ken Kalfus. And Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, of course, although that's not about cultural developments per se.

[Bryn]

Olga wrote: "...the time of futurism, free love, etc. in the 1920s, before gulag, before "no sex in soviet union..."

I'd like to find fiction on the Russian avant-garde too. I wonder if there is much in English? I think I have seen a fiction on the wonderful Kandinsky.
At the moment I'm reading a memoir on literary figures of the 20s and 30s, Symbolists: Necropolis by Vladislav Khodasevich. Not HF though.

[solitaryfossil]

Great question! I am also interested in that period of history, both historical fiction and nonfiction.

[Olga]

Just finished "Them" by Francine du Plessix Gray. It's a memoir of her parents - some of the most influential socialites in the NYC fashion and magazine publishing scene. It had a short beginning about that Silver Century of Soviet history. The rest of it turned out to be amazing, albeit about a completely different time period and theme.

[Olga]

Bryn, what is the name of that fiction book on Kandinsky?