From Social Realism to Magic Realism

Abstract

Entire layers of fiction in retrospective light might escape the attention of modern literary criticism. Russian speaking writers and poets living in Kazakhstan introduce elements of Kazakh culture into their work: these are details of Kazakh life, song culture, and the bright imagery inherent in Kazakh literature and its unique artistic flavor. Regional Russian literature, connected by roots with Slavic literature, contributed to the development and mutual enrichment of literary ties between Kazakhstan and Russia. Already by the beginning of the 1920s, two directions in the approach to the Kazakh theme emerged: a contemplative attitude towards the historical past of the Kazakh people, the desire to idealize antiquity in a traditionally romantic sense, and a progressive perception and coverage of everything connected with the life of the Kazakhs.

Russian-language literature in Kazakhstan has gone from socialist realism to magical realism. It is closely connected with the reality, history and traditions of the ethnic groups of Kazakhstan. Historical and revolutionary themes were developed in the spirit of the dominant ideology. The range of material covered included the period of collectivization before the development of virgin lands and the problems of the scientific and technological revolution. Magical realism gives literary texts a unique originality.