Russian Literature in the 20th Century (3)

Writers began to get excited; Ehrenburg expressed the feeling that circumstances were improving for the literary world of the Soviet Union and that now they need not be afraid of what they wrote. Even with their new found freedoms, some of the administrators of the Union of Writers still clung to the styles and techniques that were required during Stalin's regime. They were very much opposed to the new "formalistic and negative writing" that was emerging.[29] More recent authors feel the best post-Stalin writings that emerged were the ones that had remained true to pre-Stalinist traditions and styles.[30]

Another sign that writers were gaining more freedom was the revival of the authors who had been pulled from the shelves of the Soviet Union. People, whose writings had not been seen for thirty years or more, emerged into circulation again as if nothing had happened. Writers who had been stricken from records reappeared on the lists. Nothing was said as to what had happened to the authors during those years; many having died in "unfortunate" circumstances. Occasionally it was mentioned that an author had "perished after unfounded accusations" but the public in general knew what had befallen the writers.[31]

Through the 1960 and 1970s, there were less government restrictions created and upheld. While the government was still not keen on criticism, it was not as controlling over the literature and press that was published. It allowed authors to speak their minds without fear of retribution. New forms of writing emerged and classical works were revived. Some areas suffered from the restrictions, like the poetry, but were able rebound eventually.

I have had to limit my research up to the 1970s, as I was unable to locate anything of significance past that.

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This article written by Rebbeca Wickert published at associatedcontent.com.


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Bibliography

Brown, Deming. Soviet Russian Literature Since Stalin. London: Cambridge University Press, 1979.

Ehrenburg, Ilya. Freedom or Death (SovLit.com: 2005) http://www.sovlit.com/war/freedomordeath.html> (5 December 2005).

Frankel, Benjamin ed. The Cold War: 1945-1991. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1992.

Gibian,George. Interval of Freedom: Soviet Literature During the Thaw, 1954-1957. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1960.

Lowe, David. Russian Writing since 1953: A Critical Survey. New York: Ungar Publishing Company, 1987.

Moser, Charles A., ed. The Cambridge History of Russian Literature. Cambridge, Eng: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Parrish, Thomas. The Cold War Encyclopedia. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc.,1996.

Reavey, George. Soviet Literature To-Day. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1947.

Shneidman, N.N. Soviet Litureaure in the 1970s: Artistic Diversity and Ideological Conformity. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1979.

Simmons, Ernest J., ed. Through the Glass of Soviet Literature: Views of Russian Society. New York: Columbia University Press, 1953.

Struve, Gleb. Russian Literature under Lenin and Stalin: 1917-1953. Norman, Ok.: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1971.

Slonim, Marc. Soviet Russian Literature: Writers and Problems, 1917-1977. New York City: Oxford University Press, 1977.

[1] Marc Slonim,

Soviet Russian Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977). 246

[2] Gleb Struve,

Russian Literature under Lenin and Stalin: 1917-1953 (Norman, Ok: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971). 3

[3] Harold Swayze,

Political Control of Literature in the USSR, 1946-1959 (Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press, 1962). 8

[4] Ibid., 10

[5] Marc Slonim,

Soviet Russian Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977). 4

[6] Ibid.

[7] Deming Brown,

Soviet Russian Literature Since

Stalin (London: Cambridge University Press, 1979). 352

[8] Ibid., 374

[9] Ibid., 352-353

[10] Ibid., 356-357

[11] Thomas Parrish,

The Cold War Encyclopedia (New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1996). 258

[12] Ibid., 150

[13] N.N. Schneidman,

Soviet Literature in the 1970s: Artistic diversity and ideological conformity. (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1979). 47

[14] Ilya Ehrenburg,

Freedom or Death (SovLit.com: 2005) http://www.sovlit.com/war/freedomordeath.html>

(5 December 2005).

[15] Harold Swayze,

Political Control of Literature in the USSR, 1946-1959 (Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press, 1962). 31

[16] Ibid., 37

[17] N.N. Schneidman

Soviet Literature in the 1970s: Artistic diversity and ideological conformity. (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1979). 48

[18] Ibid., 3

[19] N.N. Schneidman

Soviet Literature in the 1970s: Artistic diversity and ideological conformity. (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1979). 3

[20] Gibian 6

[21] Gleb Struve,

Russian Literature under Lenin and Stalin: 1917-1953 (Norman, Ok: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971). 178

[22] George Gibian,

Interval of Freedom: Soviet Literature During the Thaw, 1954-1957 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1960). 7

[23] Deming Brown,

Soviet Russian Literature Since

Stalin (London: Cambridge University Press, 1979). 374

[24] David Lowe,

Russian Writing since 1953: A Critical Survey (New York: Ungar Publishing Company, 1987). 8

[25] Ibid., 6

[26] Ibid., 19-24

[27] Ibid., 32

[28] Ibid., 43

[29] George Gibian,

Interval of Freedom: Soviet Literature During the Thaw, 1954-1957 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1960). 9

[30] David Lowe,

Russian Writing since 1953: A Critical Survey (New York: Ungar Publishing Company, 1987). 47

[31] George Gibian,

Interval of Freedom: Soviet Literature During the Thaw, 1954-1957 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1960). 10