Contemporary Issues of Literary Studies - International Symposium Proceedings

Shalva Dadiani’s Play „From Spark“ on the Shota Rustaveli Theater Stage

2024-02-14T11:45:51+04:00

In 1934 new direction – Social realism had been established at the Soviet Writers’ Union meeting, representing working plan for the actors in the arts and literature fields. The leading part in the Soviet dramaturgy was held by the work of the party organizations.

Shalva Dadiani’s play From Spark was written based on the social realism principles, which had been staged at the Rustaveli Theater in 1937.

The historical story was reflected in the play. Several episodes of the Bolshevism history. Namely, establishment of Social-democratic organization in Batumi in 1901, by Stalin’s initiative.

Avant-garde Movement in Georgian Ballet and Socialist Realism

2024-02-14T12:33:43+04:00

In the second half of the 20th century, when it became possible to „shake“ the „Iron Curtain“ and wide cultural exchanges with foreign countries began, anti-romantic tendencies entered Soviet art.

The widespread presentation of American and European ballet art in Georgia made it clear that the isolation of Soviet ballet art from the world dance culture hindered the modernization of the ballet theater that began at the beginning of the century, and that during this time a number of fundamentally new artistic concepts emerged in foreign music, choreography and scenography.

The new touches introduced in the music and choreography of the Georgian ballet changed the face of the ideal graphics of the classical dance construction. This, of course, led to the breaking of ballet poses, and sometimes to their grotesque intensity.

Shalva Dadiani's The Yesterday’s People: the Theatrical Version of the Play in the Period of Developed Socialism

2024-02-14T12:38:10+04:00

Shalva Dadiani's play The Yesterday’s People was written in 1917, long before the establishment of the Socialist Realism method and the Soviet Union itself. In the 1930s, Georgian literary critics put the writer's early works in the Soviet ideological context and compared them to the works of Maxim Gorky, the founder of Socialist Realism.

In 1972, by that time already well-known theatre director Temur Chkheidze staged The Yesterday’s People in Rustaveli Theater. We discuss the main messages of the theatre director, communicated through the play by Shalva Dadiani, and their consistency with the playwright's concept.

Tom Stoppard’s Rock’n’Roll and Socialist Realism

2024-02-14T10:27:30+04:00

The goal of the paper is to study Tom Stoppard’s one of the major plays Rock’n’ Roll. From literary, socio-political and artistic standpoints analyze the author’s relation to Socialist Realism in Sovietized Czechoslovakia. Stoppard’s Rock’n Roll is a good example of intertextuality and metafictional technique. Creative mixture of the historical truth, playwright’s biography, contemporary reality and Anglo-American rock music artistically expressed in the play. Examination of these things will enable us to talk about concrete literary-aesthetic connections and differences, which finally clarify the author’s relation to Socialist Realism. Considering this, I would like to discuss several issues:

1. Tom Stoppard, Vaclav Havel and Sovietized Czechoslovakia
2. Rock music and Prague in 1968;
3. Intertextuality of the play – Milan Kundera’s fictional reality.

Medea and Totalitarian Ideology in “Colchian Medea in Kolkhoz” by Givi Margvelashvili

2024-02-14T10:57:39+04:00

The paper studies an interrelation existing between a totalitarian ideology and art objects in the novel “Colchian Medea in Kolkhoz” by Givi Margvelashvili, the art objects being Medea’s statue (1968, Bichvinta) and Lenin and Stalin’s monuments. The metafictional revival of Medea’s statue invites the audience to reflect on the following: what’s the point of statues’ reanimation, i.e. of their self acknowledgment. The research made evident that if Medea’s reviving revealed the role of totalitarian ideology in victimizing of an opponent, the probable reanimation of the soviet leaders’ monuments will make clear their appraisal by a history both for the leaders themselves and for a society.

Fear and Play – Ways of Escape and Survival from the Social Realism in Georgian Poetry of the 70s-80s of the 20th Century (Besik Kharanauli, Lia Sturua)

2024-02-14T12:42:44+04:00

In the article, when talking about the poetry of the 70s and 80s of the 20th century, playing on the example of the poems of Lia Sturuas and Besik Kharanauli is evaluated as one of the ways to escape from the social realist space.

Through the game, the individual (here, the poet/lyrical hero) disguises himself, plays the role of an actor.

The poet indicates to the reader that the reality in which he has to live should be thought of as "being in agony" (Basik Kharanauli's poem "agony") or as spinning in a circle (Lia Sturua's poem "in a circle").

Social Realist Iconography of the Labor Woman in the Soviet Cinema of the 1930s

2024-02-14T12:48:18+04:00

In the 1930s, in Soviet cinema, social realism was established. The revolutionary pathos of the Soviet films in the 1920s was replaced by the film language of social realist cinema in the 1930s, which became "mythological realism" in the second half of the decade. In this new existence, a working person appears on the vanguard, who was supposed to build a socialist paradise according to the new course of the economy. In the visual narrative of the party rhetoric of the 1930s, the Soviet working woman appears as the main actor. The "gender emancipation" of women was sublimated in the context of labor in the Soviet cinema of the 1930s. The "new social body" competed with a man driving a tractor or flying an airplane. In social realist art of the 1930s, including cinema, one of the major passages is the visual iconography of the Soviet working woman and Stalin.

Reception of the Anti-hero in the Literary Text and Criticism of Social Realism (Mikhail Javakhishvili's „Kvachi Kvachantiradze“ and Polikarpe Kakabadze's „Kvarkvere Tutaberi“)

2024-02-14T14:14:04+04:00

In the 1920s, two important texts of Georgian literature were written: Mikheil Javakhishvili's pica-resque novel „Kvachi Kvachantiradze“ (1924) and Polikarpe Kakabadze's play „Kvarkvare Tutaberi“ (1928).

Who are Kvarkvare Tutaberi and Kvachi Kvachantiradze? And what do they have in common? The capability of metamorphoses, a total absence of moral and ethical values, dishonesty, and fraud - this is an incomplete list of qualities that both characters have.

Our research aims to investigate how Soviet literary criticism of the 20-30s interprets the mentioned texts.

The Poetics of Ioseb Grishashvili's “Unpublished Poems”

2024-02-14T14:27:21+04:00

After the establishment of Bolshevik rule in Georgia in the 1920s, creative freedom gradually diminished as writers were compelled to serve the ideological machine. Those who rejected this metho-dology were declared “enemies of the people” and faced physical destruction. Despite outward obedience, some poets secretly composed anti-Bolshevik poems. Ioseb Grishashvili, an outstanding figure in the history of Georgian poetry during 1910s, was one such poet. The poetics of his “Unpublished Poems” (published only in 1992) draw attention, above all, to the profound pain the poet experienced due to the calamities befalling his country.

In this study, we examine the issues of meter, and poetic stylistics in Ioseb Grishashvili's “Unpub-lished Poems.” We also explore the relationship between the textual structure and semantics. Certain poems in the collection faced intense criticism during the period of socialist realism due to their anti-Bolshevik content.

Literary Criticism of the Era of Social Realism: Moses Khonel’s „Amirandarejaniani“

2024-02-14T14:36:01+04:00

In ancient Georgian literature, Amirandarejaniani holds the distinction of being considered one of the oldest heroic-saray-Indian works that have survived to this day. Its attributed author is Moses Khonel. A significant milestone in the textual research of this work was reached in 1838 when M. Brose published a comprehensive study on the origins of Amirandarejaniani, as noted by Al. Baramidze.

The present article is an attempt to critically analyze the views of researchers of the last century about Amirandarejanian and to determine their relevance and applicability to today's achievements of science, taking into account the accumulated knowledge on this subject.

Modernistic Interpretations with Socrealistical Names on the Example of Lado Gudiashvili’s Work

2024-02-14T11:03:48+04:00

The article refers to the work of the famous Georgian artist Lado Gudiashvili during the turning period of the late 20s, when the individual handwriting of the artist, well-known in the modernist artistic circles of Paris, changed dramatically after he arrived in Soviet Georgia. In 1929-1930, using irony and grotesque, he created works with Socrealistic names where allegorical compositions reflect a harsh, violent environment. This can be seen on the panel “Industry” painted on the wall of the lobby of the Marjanishvili Theatre, which was repainted shortly after its creation and remains covered to this day.

Scientific Conformism and Ideological Conjuncture in Georgian Historical Studies of the Stalin Era

2024-02-14T11:15:11+04:00

Immediately after the occupation of Georgia by Soviet Russia, Georgian historical science began to be ideologized.

The subjection of History to the party requirements in Russia was entrusted to the Socialist Academy of Social Sciences created in 1918 under the leadership of Lenin, and in 1921 the "Red Professor's Institute" was created for the same purpose.

The establishment of historical-party science also began in Georgia, which was promoted by special party schools, and the Institute of Marxism-Leninism was established by the resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party on November 12, 1930.

The institute was opened on March 10, 1931. In his speech, Filipe Makharadze named the struggle against the anti-Marxist worldview as the goal of the institute.

Georgian Soviet historiography began to act in three directions: 1. Marxism as the main ideological base of scientific studies; 2. The theory of class struggle and 3. Stalin's theory about the origin of nations and states.

The Georgian historian should submit to the ideological conjuncture, that is, choose scientific conformism, or resist. In this case, he could not avoided repressions.

The patterns of scientific conformism in Soviet historiography are so great that it damaged the deve-lopment process of historiography, falsified and exaggerated reality, many historical facts were distorted.

Handbook of Communists (To the 85th Anniversary of the Publication of „History of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks): Short Course“

2024-02-14T11:22:29+04:00

It was considered that the "Short Course" made significant contributions to the "progressive development of Marxism-Leninism." However, in reality, it led to the erosion of common-sense principles within historical science and a reduction in its research-oriented aspects, giving way to prolonged dogmatism.

During Stalin's era, the "Short Course" was regarded as the "definitive textbook of Bolshevism," At the XX Congress of the CPSU, it was declared as lacking in substance. Under the leadership of L. Brezhnev, there was a partial rehabilitation of the "Short Course." However, during the period of perestroika, it was characterized as a historically incongruent and fictitious text.

The Image of Soviet Abkhazia of the 1920s-1930s in Abkhaz Soviet Literature of the 1930s-1950s

2024-02-14T11:27:08+04:00

In February and March 1921, the Red Army of Soviet Russia conquered Georgia. Soviet power was established in Georgia. On March, units of the Red Army entered Sokhumi and proclaimed Soviet power.

In 1921-1924, anti-Soviet demonstrations took place in Abkhazia. Since the autumn of 1929, the collective-farm movement spread across Georgia. These changes were accompanied by difficulties, followed by protest actions against collectivization.

At the same time, in the 20s and 30s, the construction of the Black Sea coastal highways and railways, resort and city development were in full swing in Abkhazia; collective farms were built in the villages; industrial exploitation of Tkvarcheli coal mines began, etc.

The topic of protests taking place in Abkhazia was taboo during the Soviet years. It was taboo for Soviet literature as well.

Georgian Culture of the 50s-60s of XX Century and its Historical Premises

2024-02-14T11:40:10+04:00

The turn of the 50s and 60s of XX century in Georgia was an era of significant changes in the spiritual life of the country, a new outlook and a new artistic approach appeared, which in its essence opposed the principles of Socialist Realism prevailing at that time.

The purpose of my report is to highlight the important changes taking place in the culture of Georgia at the turn of the that time, based on the comparative research of foundations of these changes – historical premises, here and abroad, and public consciousness, with the Fine Art of that period.

The Dictates of Vulgar Realism and the Modernist Manifesto of Konstantine Gamsakhurdia

2024-02-09T16:33:32+04:00

As the Soviet system stabilized in the latter half of the 1920s, a stringent mechanism of ideological control took effect. In his 1930 publication, "Left Eye," Konstantine Gamsakhurdia included a short parabolic novel titled "The Wisdom of Lies." Under the guise of establishing a connection with Sulkhan-Saba Orbelian's book of fables (17th century), he crafted a modernist manifesto intricately intertwined with the anti-realist concepts of Friedrich Nietzsche and Oscar Wilde. Konstantine Gamsakhurdia's novella "The Wisdom of Lies" stands as a remarkable testament to the preservation of creative freedom under totalitarian pressure within Georgian literature of the 20th century.

Epigraph as the Code (Galaktioni’s “Gold in Adjara Heaven”)

2024-02-12T12:57:28+04:00

Galaktion Tabidze has opposed to the socialist realism with his own “defense” politics and masked the main ideas by applying numerous poetic techniques: title, figurative characters, manipulations with dates, opposition rhetoric etc. The poet tricked the party dictate, by providing epigraphs (stances from the “Knight in the Panther’s Skin”) hinting the idea of all (75) his verses in the book “Gold in Adjara Heaven”. These epigraphs declare the main ideas of the verses and the book.

The book was published in Batumi, in 1944. Afterwards, fearing the totalitarian regime, Galaktioni removed the epigraphs, still achieving the goal, with respect of poetics and conjuncture!

Fatal Translation: Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra in Georgian

2024-02-12T13:03:10+04:00

The paper examines the Georgian translations of Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche created in the 30-40ies of the 20th century by Erekle Tatishvili (1884-1946) whose interest in Nietzsche started in his student years at Leipzig University. His translation, which is characterized by fidelity to the original and formal beauty, cost him an arrest under Stalin’s purge.

The analysis clearly reveals that the book was unacceptable for the Soviet regime not only because of its ideas, which Soviet ideology associated with fascism, but also because of its poetics which did not fit in with the aesthetics of socialist realism.

Pseudo-freedom and the Illusions of Socialist Realism

2024-02-12T13:09:06+04:00

All writers should unite in the Union of Soviet Writers and participate in the building of socialism. Soviet government made writing a part of state structures, an ideological tool, and the main propagandist of communist ideals. In all the republics of the Soviet Union, writers' unions became a kind of political organizations that were supposed to control artistic production. They were supported by specially created censorship organizations that did not give permission to print works of art containing any oppositional thoughts for the authorities. As Stalin pointed out, writers were "engineers of the soul" and could ideologically shape new person.

The Political Coloring of Artistic Details in Christa Wolf's Novel Divided Heaven (Some Aspects of Structural-Semantic Analysis)

2024-02-12T13:14:39+04:00

Christa Wolf's novel Divided Sky provides a broad outline of the processes that took place in the life of the former German Democratic Republic in the 1960. It became one of the most important works of socialist realism in the literature of East Germany. It deals with the challenges facing the postwar divided Germany. For the right comprehension of the artistic world of Christa Wolf's Divided Sky it is necessary to identify the functions of marginal details. Structural-semantic method allows us to throw a new light on the issues discussed in the paper.

Lyrical Impulse in the Framework of Social Realist Rhetoric (According to a poem by Galaktion Tabidze)

2024-02-12T13:19:24+04:00

The present paper discusses Galaktion Tabidze’s poem ,,The Abyssinian Soldier”. The poem for the first time is published in the 3rd volume of Eight Volume, Selected set of Works by Galaktion Tabidze published in 1940. The cited volume is thematically varied. ,,The Abyssinian Soldier” is a part of ,,Europian Cycle”. It is hard to tell exactly, but I think, that one of the handwritings show that the secret impulse of creating this poem was the tragedy of Titsian Tabidze. In the article our opinion is argued as far as possible . According to this hypothesis we can explain the strange plot of the poem.

„Socialist Realism“ by Akaki Beliashvili (Based on Several Short Stories)

2024-02-12T14:12:43+04:00

Georgian writer Akaki Beliashvili (1903-1961), like his colleagues of the Soviet era, managed to create several texts that went beyond the time-space conditions of the most difficult era and acquired more important meaning. They are distinguished from the Soviet conjunctural works by the fact that they do not belong only to the history of literature or are only the matter of its research, but they are actual even nowadays.

Our report, presented at the symposium, is dedicated to several such satirical short stories by Akaki Beliashvili– the writer who died tragically and whose 120th birthday we are celebrating this year.

On the Violent Cases of the Clichés of Socialist Realism (Lado Asatiani, Ana Kalandadze)

2024-02-12T14:19:29+04:00

An attempt, begun in the late 1920s to elaborate the so-called new creative method in Soviet literature, took shape in 1932-1934 as "socialist realism". The new ideologists tried to destroy the eternal values on the basis of the "principles of the party spirit in literature." The mandatory themes were Soviet patriotism, labor heroism, new heroes and their opposition to the heroes of the past...

Suffice it to mention the history of poetry collections by Lado Asatiani and Ana Kalandadze to illustrate what would happen to a book, the author, who did not promote political ideas.

Lado’s published book (as lacking ideas) was cut out; for the same reason, the publication of Anna Kalandadze’s first book was delayed for a long time.

„Little Man“ in the Era of the „Big Man“ (A „Social Realism“ Antithesis to the Humanist Tradition of Georgian Prose)

2024-02-12T14:35:54+04:00

One of the prevailing themes of the Georgian prose of the 19th to early 20th century was a “Little Man”, whose “literary birth” is associated with the names of Gogol and Chekhov and who usually represents a poor class of petty city officials/teachers. Dmna Shengelaya's short novel “The Man” is perceived as the antithesis to the humanistic pathos of this "literary gallery", created at the dawn of socialist realism and repeating, in a parody way, both Egnate Ninoshvili’s plot and onomastic symbols. This short novel laid down the basis for the whole series of literary characters. We hope that the reader will learn how the socialist realism, introduced by the "Big Chief” ousted from Georgian literature a centuries-old tradition of humanism.

Ioseb Noneshvili's Odes – Genre Transformation of Praise Lyricsagainst the Background of Traditions and Socialist Realism

2024-02-12T14:41:00+04:00

After the establishment of socialist realism, the lyrical genres, ode and hymn, took on a new significance: they were used to glorify the leaders of the revolution, important dates, the Communist Party, the heroes of the Soviet war and socialist labor.

Ioseb Noneshvili's odes with sincere patriotism, healthy emotional, national charge, and creative way of thinking confirm the viewpoint about the power of true talent in the conditions of ideological dictatorship, the prevailing method of socialist realism. In spite of dominated false pathos, ideological pressure, strict party censorship, I. Noneshvili's poems („There is such a country!“, „Oh, Mother – the great beginning of life!“, „Ode to the Vine (Is it vintage or your wedding?!)“ and others are still widely read in twenty-first-century Georgia.

„My Companion“ Maxim Gorky. „We, Different and Alien“

2024-02-12T14:49:44+04:00

Maxim Gorky turned socialist realism into an official term in 1934, voicing it at the first congress of the USSR Writers' Union. Maxim Gorky tried to "transform realism, if you will, critical realism by ridiculing and condemning Christianity. The idea of class struggle and And by destroying the class enemy, Maxim Gorky first of all began to confront himself and his creativity."

In the Union of Socialist Soviets, the pioneer boys are already learning to understand and understand the hideously obvious truth: the civilization and culture of the bourgeoisie is based on the continuous brutal struggle of the minority – the well –fed "neighbors" – against the vast majority – the hungry "neighbors". It is absolutely impossible to "love your neighbor" when it is necessary to rob him, and if he resists robbery – to kill."

He preaches completely different ideas in his story "My Companion", which was written before the revolution and its genre resembles the Christian ascetic literature of "walking" – pilgrimism. The writer tells about his walking and wandering. He accidentally met a young Georgian prince Shakro Ptadze in Odessa, who became his companion. Shakro and the generalized image of satellites. What literary methods does the "Christ-loving" and "humane" author – walker use to create an image of "other" and "alien", whose name, according to the writer, is legion.

The Theory of Socialist Realism and its Relation to Religion

2024-02-13T11:02:48+04:00

One of the necessary demands of the socialist realism was propaganda of atheism. The Soviet State commenced a way of a unique experiment – to try to create a godless society, that had to be supported politically, ideologically and economically. The fiction literature (belles-lettres), literary critics and literary science based on the method of socialist realism was engaged to support this experiment ideologically. In the service of antireligious propaganda were engaged not only literary works describing contemporality but the interpretation of the ancient Georgian literary works were done from the atheist position.

Socialist Realism and Sermons of Church Leaders (Christmas Epistles of Ilia II the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, 1977-1985)

2024-02-13T11:10:17+04:00

The history of literature is familiar with trends that are born and established as a result of time, worldview, political, economic, social factors. If art is a reflection of life, the social realist creator was tasked with reflecting life against the backdrop of socialist ideals. In a self-contradictory process (in the purposeful "marriage" of literature and ideology), the norms and criteria that creators had to obey were created by the dictates of the Communist Party. This already contradictory essence was made even more intense by the given fact – in many countries, including Georgia, socialism and Communist Party had to dictate norms for Christian culture, and this naturally meant either self-liquidation on the part of the church, or offering alternative models of thought. Sermons and aspirations expressed in them had to be compatible with the objective course of history; But it faced natural opposition and a kind of impasse, therefore, it is interesting, what was the main pathos of the preaching of the church leaders? Here we will say that between com-promise and struggle, the preaching and the preacher in a difficult era were able to and trace the path to those values without which the church loses its meaning.

From "Ascension to the Pedestal" to Ideological Hunting

2024-02-13T11:15:48+04:00

Pasternak realized the line of authorities for total control over creativity early, and his attitude was clearly demonstrated by the example of his friends – Georgian poets. He not only felt the deeper realities of many people's lives, but also, as it turns out, he predicted the course of events.

After the death of friends, primarily T. Tabidze and P. Yashvili, Pasternak forever withdrew from participation in official literary life. This confrontation ended with one of the most famous scandals associated with the awarding of the Nobel Prize to him.

This is the result of Pasternak's relationship with the authorities – the exclusion from the Writers' Union of the USSR. The attempt to include the great poet in socialist realism is one of the most striking examples of the failure of the Jesuit game of Soviet power, unprecedented in scale.

Utopianism in Georgian Socialist Realism Literature

2024-02-13T11:28:32+04:00

The presented paper analyzes tendencies of Utopianism in the Akaki Belashvili and Demna Shengelaia`s texts written by the esthetics of socialist realism. Both selected writers were members of The Futuristic groups at the beginning of the 20th century, but later, they had to go on to socialist realism and created texts inspired by its esthetics. The famous cultural researcher Boris Groys mentioned that the fact the representatives of Avang-Garde in the Soviet space smoothly transmitted to the aesthetics of socialist realism, caused by the fact that both of them are filled with the utopian spirit and tried to construct a dream future here and now. We analyze how these tendencies are represented in the novels created according to the socialist realism esthetics by Demna Shenegelaia and Akaki Beliashvili.

Unconscious Passages and Belated Resonance (Osip Mandelstam’s Essay “Homecoming”)

2024-02-13T11:43:18+04:00

Osip Mandelstam’s essay “Homecoming” has never been the object of the Georgian Literary criticism. It is all the more appropriate to say that the both essays – “Homecoming” as well as “Mensheviks in Georgia” – additionally reveal several proverbial layers of poet’s artistic and personal portrait. In terms of political preferences or belonging, the poet supports the Soviet government and criticizes everything that contradicts it. His behavior is determined by the political conjuncture, the service of which the poet does not disdain, but uses it rather profitably. Seemingly, we deal with the stage of Mandelstam’s biography when he is not an archetype of the Poet but just a human being.

Atheism or New Religion

2024-02-13T11:51:58+04:00

Presentation, based on the works of the Soviet writers, provides analysis of atheistic ideology of the Soviet period; we focus on the passages in the Soviet literature demonstrating presence of the belief that once, the science without any gods at all by himself will be able to revive the dead and that the life will become eternal...

Presentation provides discussion of the "League of Militant Atheists", works of the various writers...

The main point of the presentation is that beyond the Soviet atheism there was the idea of creation of some kind of the new religion...

Decorative Art of the Latvian SSR, Searching the Way Between Party-Mindedness and National-Mindedness

2024-02-13T12:02:46+04:00

The basic principle of socialist realism was the belief in the political ideals proposed by the ruling Communist party (party-mindedness) of the Soviet Union, enriched by national-mindedness and ideinost (ideological-content). Already since the early 1930s, in the Soviet Union every single cultural worker in every single discipline of art had to strictly follow the method of socialist realism. The canon of socialist realism was equally applicable to fine art as well as applied art, the specific function of which was supposed to be purely utilitarian use. Decorative art in the national republics of the Soviet Union usually took the forms of folk art, and decorative art since the beginning of the 1960s was perceived as an integral component of Soviet culture. The essence of Soviet culture had already been formulated several decades earlier, and it had to be socialist in content and national in form, emphasizing the importance of national traditions.

It was possible to treat this principle in various, even very disparate ways, so the problem of adherence to the party principles and the manifestastion of national distinctiveness was an inexhaustible topic of theoretical and practical discussions. Conceptual ambiguity, as well as very different visions among artists, theoreticians, as well as party officials, did not allow to develop a unified theory of applied art. Due to the afore mentioned ambiguity and the pluralism of opinions artists of applied art could enjoy some space of freedom for creativity, without directly violating the canons of socialist realism.

The author of the paper examines and analyzes the development of professional decorative art in the Latvian SSR of that time, ideological currents in art theory, and center–periphery relationship.

Retrospective Aspects of "Institutional Memory" in Texts of Socialist Realism

2024-02-13T12:24:21+04:00

The politics of memory is recognized as a conceptual factor in determining true national identity. Anthony Smith claims that "an ethnos cannot exist without a shared historical memory; memory is a condition for its further existence". The Soviet political elite tried to introduce the markers of socialist identity, to create a new "institutional memory", whose primary objective is to "create the meaning of the past, to spread it to the masses and society". When analyzing the aspects of the Soviet model of reality, the data of literary texts, which offer first-class material for the study of "institutional memory", are noteworthy.

Towards the Realities Revealing Socialist Realism in Georgian Poetry of the Soviet Period

2024-02-13T12:28:40+04:00

Despite the repressive governance policy that the communists carried out in every direction since the first years of getting hold of the political power, at the initial stage of the sovietization of Georgia, they couldn’t completely come Georgian literature under the ideological influence. This situation has changed significantly since the 1930s, as the literature appeared in a strict ideological framework. The mentioned reality severely limited the process of free expression of opinion and almost all writers working in the mentioned period had to create artistic texts glorifying Soviet reality, which had a very negative impact on the literature.

Socialist Realism Markers in Biopics "Taras Shevchenko"

2024-02-13T12:37:17+04:00

The dynamics of the interpretation of Kobzar image in the film biographies "Taras Shevchenko" (1926) and "Taras Shevchenko" (1951) is quite demonstrative in the realm of the general formation specificity of the "pantheon of heroes" of the Soviet regime. Still in the 1926 biopic by P. Chardynin the first attempts to adapt Shevchenko's biography and creative heritage to the needs of Soviet ideology were made. Architectonically the film consists of a series of novellas chronicling the writer's life from childhood to his
death. However, the biographical canvas is filled with socialist realism codes, creating a "convenient" image for the Soviet authorities. Traditional Soviet ideologemes appear in the 1926 bi opic: "a prophet kobzar", "an autodidact artist serf", "a rebel", "a fighter for the liberation of the oppressed and dejected". This film is believed to start the creation of a new image of Kobzar as "a forerunner of modern communist ideas." The 1951 film by I. Savchenko, shot on the eve of 90th anniversary of Kobzar's death, was a confirmation of the paradigm shift. Here, the attention is focused on the period of Shevchenko's exile, on his sufferings in the
captivity. The film creates a heroic image of She vchenko as "a symbol of the proletarian struggle" and "a fighter for socialist ideals". Soviet mythologemes actively appear in the 1951 biopic "a poet fighter", "a ‘petrel’ of the revolution", "a peasant poet", "a younger brother of the Russian social de mocrats". The film became a demonstrative example of the embodiment of the ideological socialist realism narrative and cinematographic Shevchenkiana had to be guided by it in the following decades.

Social Realism and Modernism – to Comprehension Victims and Weapons

2024-02-13T12:47:45+04:00

Disputes about the deliberate suppression and blocking of modernist art in the era of Soviet totalitarianism began in the late 1980s. From this time, the point of view emerged, according to which modernism was an "intellectual victim", but not of the totalitarian consciousness or era in general, but specifically of Stalinism – as the founder of the "repressive model". It was a synthetic and purposeful plan, which was neither started in the Stalinist era nor finished after it. It was a form of colonial "philosophy" in general, which took a maximalist form in physical manifestation, which meant violence against the text and the physical isolation of opponents.

„Undertakings Brought from Russia“ – Lado Kotetishvili’s Short Story Gveltucha

2024-02-13T12:53:27+04:00

Lado Kotetishvili, whose works were created in the 30s of the 20th century and which are mainly modernist, told his wife before his death never to publish them. His wife and children fulfilled his wish, but in the end, the generation of grandchildren considered it necessary to publish the writings of Lado Kotetishvili in memory of their grandfather. The response exceeded their expectations. Lado Kotetishvili’s works will attract many researchers and the writer will definitely be included in the textbook of the history of new Georgian literature because of his special style and worldviews.

Socialist Pseudo Humanism in Gulo Kobiashvili’s Short Stories

2024-02-13T12:58:04+04:00

Stories of contemporary writer, Gulo Kobiashvili describe, in humoristic manner, the antihuman events characteristic for Soviet Georgia. In her first collection of short stories “Poplar Trees” (1986), based on the principle of critical realism, the author discusses socialist pseudo-humanism and undermining of moral values. Particularly impressive for the readers are stories: “Pirate”, “Vana” etc.

Kobiashvili’s collection of short stories “Free as a Bird” (1998) demonstrates more prominently and freely the vices characteristic for the soviet period. The author describes with the characteristic humor.

Gulo Kobiashvili’s stories clearly reflect the writer’s unbiased, healthy criticism to formal moral values falsified by socialist reality.

„Knight in the Panther’s Skin“ in the „Light“ of Socialist Realism

2024-02-13T17:09:04+04:00

Socialist realism epoch has read the “Knight in the Panther’s Skin”, from the specific point of view. It was necessary to place Rustaveli’s worldview into the suitable frame, that were close to materialism and socialist realism principles. As the main sign of his progressive thinking, they regarded “rejection of the medieval religious darkness”. Rustaveli was named an apologist for worldly love, it was a one-sided understanding of the concept of love given in the prologue. However, this epoch was a new stage in the scientific study of the poem. the celebration events dedicated to Rustaveli’s 750th and 800th birthdays have greatly contributed to popularization of the “Knight in the Panther’s Skin” all over the world.

Critical Reflection of the Soviet Discourse in the Magazine „Mnatobi“ (1930s)

2024-02-13T17:15:30+04:00

As a result of Russia’s annexation and occupation in 1921, Georgia lost its 3-year independence, and in 1922 it became part of the Soviet Union. Bolshevization of the country began and it encompassed absolutely all aspects of social life. The cultural sphere was also subordinated to the state policy and communist ideology. The above-mentioned specificity of the management of the literary process by the Soviet authorities is thoroughly demonstrated by periodicals showing facts and events as well as reflections on them. In this regard, the magazine “Mnatobi” (Beacon) should be singled out. The issues of “Mnatobi” published in the 1930s clearly show the violent character of the Soviet ideological machine, the anti-human nature of Bolshevization, the falsity and utopianism of the worldview artificially forced on literature.

History of the Study of Ancient Georgian Panegyric Poems in Georgian Soviet Literary Studies

2024-02-13T17:19:53+04:00

In Georgian Soviet literary criticism, various hypotheses were expressed about the authors of the ancient Georgian panegyric poems “Tamariani” (author – Chakhrukhadze) and “Abdulmesiani” (author – Ioan Shavteli) and the dates of their writing, as well as about the artistic and formal features of these poems. In particular, some critics considered the frequent use of homonymous rhymes in these poems to be a defect that obscures the meaning of the works. Other Soviet Georgian scientists held the opposite opinion. We considered it necessary to substantiate the hypothesis that the specific poetic structure of these poems was conditioned by the influence of Neoplatonic philosophy. A basis arose for the synthesis of philosophy and poetry, carried out in the poetry of ancient Georgian poets – Chakhrukhadze and Shavteli.

„Burned Literature“ of the Thaw Period in Ukraine: Oles Honchar's Banned Novel „The Cathedral“

2024-02-13T17:28:51+04:00

Oles Honchar's novel "The Cathedral" is one of the prominent victims of the Soviet totalitarian cultural policy. The scandal surrounding it, persecution, slander, ban, etc., can be completely compared to the story of Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago". The novel was published in 1968, and from the very beginning it met with unprecedented popularity. The famous publishing house "Dnipro" printed it with a huge circulation. In modern scientific literature, the national narrative has been repeatedly named as a model of Soviet totalitarianism and opposition. Therefore, the novel immediately attracted the attention of the government. As they say, the party boss recognized himself in one of the characters, which played a special role in starting the prosecution against the author and his work.

The Ambivalence of Giorgi Leonidze's Lyrics in Conditions of Socialist Realism and the Poet’s Unknown Impromptu

2024-02-13T17:38:09+04:00

In the work of Giorgi Leonidze, the great Georgian poet of the 20th century, we consider to distinguish several stages, the most difficult of which is the second half of the twenties of the last century to almost the end of the thirties. At that time, the personal feelings of the poet and their fixation are contra-dictory: this similarity - difference is multi-charactered. These poetic works paradigmatically confirm the ambivalence of the poet's spiritual attitudes.

Especially noteworthy is the poem "Night of Iveria", about which the analysis developed and estab-lished in Georgian literary studies is completely different from reality. Neither the addressee of the poem, nor its tragic fate, nor the change of the text that this work underwent in subsequent editions, which is of great importance for evaluating the mood of the poet, is indicated and taken into account.

Renewed Tsiskari and the End of Social Realist Criticism

2024-02-14T10:00:19+04:00

By the resolution of April 23, 1932 the artistic vector of the Soviet state had to be developed by a new method – socialist realism. It was obvious that an ideological dictatorship was being established in art. Soon, all fields of art were adapted to new requirements, although this artificial process did not prove to be long-lasting in Georgian reality.

In 1957 the magazine Tsiskari began to be published. In the renewed Tsiskari, the assessment of fiction texts starts from a completely different, new position (Guram Asatiani, Revaz Tvaradze, Tamaz Chkhenkeli, Otia Pachkoria, Akaki Bakradze, Tamaz Chiladze, Koba Imedashvili...).

Precolonial Period Political and Sociocultural State in “Davitiani” and the History of its Study in Socialist Realism Era

2024-02-14T10:05:31+04:00

The history of the study of „Davitiani" counts almost more than a century and a half. Davit Guramishvili created not only own self-portrait but also a self-portrait of the whole nation. During his time living in Georgia, Russia and Ukraine he has never been distant form political and historical events. The goal of our research is to answer the following questions: Under Soviet rule when nationalism was received as a thing of the past, how were the national and personal troubles represented in „Davitiani” perceived in scientific literature? How is the political and sociocultural state reflected in „Davitiani” and how was it received in Soviet period? Were the political and sociocultural relations between Georgia, Russia and Ukraine described in "Davitian" being studied based on the information in various literary sources and archival materials? What indicators did Soviet comparative literature provide us with for analyzing „Davitiani”? Was Davit Guramishvili generally thought of as a uniting symbol of three nations or was it a Soviet propaganda? How was Davit Guramishvili’s artistic face portrayed across Georgia, Ukraine and Russia during the Soviet Union?

Does Snake Poison Work on Social Realism?

2024-02-14T10:09:53+04:00

In 1927, the critic and philosopher Sergi Danelia (1888–1963) published an essay titled “Vazha-Pshavela and the Georgian Nation.” In this essay, he adressed a question of why Mindia, the protagonist of the poem “The Snake Eater,” did not die at the very moment when he ate a piece of snake meat. Danelia insisted that the snake meat had been boiled, thereby weakening the effect of the poison. This paper disscusses the reason(s) behind his overly realistic interpretation of the poem, concidering the political-ideological circumstances and his attitude toward them.

Platon Kikodze – An Adept of Proletarian Literature

2024-02-14T10:15:53+04:00

Platon Kikodze is one of the pioneers of Georgian Soviet Marxist-proletarian literary criti-cism. The representation of the Georgian literary life of the 20s is unthinkable without his critical writings. In his opuses, the entire Georgian literature is judged and evaluated from the prism of a prole-tarian critic; the understanding of artistic realism is presented through proletarian discourse; Proleta-rian interpretation of the concept of the hero, which later became one of the mythologies of socialist rea-lism. The critic pays a lot of attention to the problem of literary companionship, which was widely discussed in the 30s of the last century.

Born in 1905, the critic fell victim to the Stalinist repressions of the 1930s.

Folk Tale “Eglė, the Queen of Serpents” [Eglė Žalčių Karalienė] on the Soviet Stage as a Representation of Lithuanian Culture

2024-02-13T13:04:22+04:00

A folk tale “Eglė, the Queen of Serpents” is one of the most exceptional Lithuanian mythical tales, which has received a lot of attention from researchers of Indo-European mythology. After a Lithuanian poetess Salomėja Nėris (1904–1945) wrote a poem following the plot of the fairy tale, it became extremely popular on the Lithuanian stage during the Soviet period. Performances based on this tale or poem not only received several productions on different puppet theater stages, but there was also a ballet written by the composer Eduardas Balsys (1919–1984) which went through several different adaptations on the opera stage. This article will analyze the characteristics of this tale based poem, discuss its stage productions and the reasons for their popularity, and their significance for Lithuanian culture in the Soviet period. The study refers to the works of of G. Kadžytė, A. Kapočiūtė, H. Šabaševičius, E. Tarasti, N. Vėlius, A. Žiūraitytė, W. Wolf, and others, and is based on comparative methodology.

Reception of Socialist Realism in Bangla Progressive Literature and Alternatives to It: 1930s to 1990s

2024-02-13T13:13:56+04:00

Socialist Realist ideas came to India indirectly. And by the time they came, Dutta Gupta had demonstrated the brutal stranglehold of Stalinism on the CPI. This meant a two-stage revolution theory, a subservience, now to British imperialism, now to the Indian bourgeoisie. After independence, the same two-stage theory and the doctrine of popular frontism meant that the main inner-party debate was, where is the progressive bourgeoisie located? Inside or outside the Congress? Proletarian class independence could not flourish. Thus, the best of Bangla progressive literature was created in the 1970s and beyond, not through the Socialist Realism of the model of Saroj Dutt from 1938 or even Gorky, but through a rejection of ruling class hegemony and the articulation of polyphony, heteroglossia, alternative realities and fantasy.

The Artistic Haze of Social Realism (Konstantine Gamsakhurdia's "Father of the People ")

2024-02-13T13:55:54+04:00

In 1937-1939 Konstantine Gamsakhurdia was ordered to create an artistic trilogy depicting the biography of Stalin by Lavrenti Beria.

Konstantine Gamsakhurdia chose the period of the boyhood and adolescence of the leader's biography, and created a "romantic dreamer and rebel". He omitted all the characteristic features that ultimately make him a "correct cult personality".

Konstantine Gamsakhurdia deliberately stopped his attention on Stalin, who was still named Soso Dzhugashvili, in order to somehow separate him from the total cult magic of the leader.

Two Endings and Two Truths of „Haki Adzba“

2024-02-13T14:01:33+04:00

Leo Kiacheli’s “Haki Adzba” was printed in “Saliteraturo Gazeti” in 1933. In this text, called the Magnum opus of the writer, one can see the elements characteristic of both – Socialist realism and Modernism. The novel shows confrontation between two antagonist classes, between morality and worldview of the two peoples, but it is noteworthy that in this confrontation there are no liars and righteous persons, winners and losers: both sides have “their truth” and the writer’s skill is best seen in his neutral position. Along with this main problem, the paper highlights the problem of two different endings of the text and its analysis by both –Soviet and post-Soviet literary critics.

Literature Movements in Modern Azerbaijani Literature: After Socialist Realism

2024-02-13T14:54:06+04:00

Social realism entered literary studies as a trend distinguished by its spatial limitation and political-authoritarian origin among the literary trends of the 20th century. The political authoritarian origin has led to the trend becoming one of the main attributes of the ideology of a certain, closed political regime and being associated with that regime. However, since the movement of social realism originated from a political source, not a literary one, it was created on the basis of a plan, in the form of a project, and the end of the regime resulted in the sudden deletion of the movement from the literary agenda before it completely passed the extinction phase.

From Socialist Realism to a More Radical Poetic Discourse: Indian Context

2024-02-13T15:27:35+04:00

The aim of this paper is to look at poems in Indian languages to explore how the idea of socialist-realist poetics was received in these languages and how it played a crucial role over time. The Indian poets, inspired by the idea of socialist realism, tried utmost to convert the oppressed peoples’ voice into poetic aesthetic. How did they address the conflicting space between the middleclass-centered morale, values, class consciousness and the desire of a working-class revolution? How did they apply a prototyped optimism of the socialist-realist model in the caste-based, religion-tormented Indian reality? Was the socialist-realist poetics insufficient to represent the voice of the oppressed? Did the socialist-realist critics misjudge the poetic aesthetic and the progressive elements? Sometimes the line between mere propaganda/slogan and the poetic aesthetic became blurred and sometimes artificial optimism failed to look at the real reactions of the working class. The point at which this paper would conclude is the transition of poetry from a propagandist tool to a more radical poetic discourse on the Indian reality.

Representing Women in the Struggle for Socialism: Alexandra Kollontai and Lydia Chukovskaia as Alternatives to Socialist Realism

2024-02-13T15:32:16+04:00

Mainstream Socialist Realism had a fundamentally gender stereotyping of women from the 1930s. By contrast, Alexandra Kollontai in the 1920s (The Love of Worker Bees) was socialist, feminist, and realist, but not Socialist Realist. She presented a critique of an emergent new hierarchy, and also challenged the re-inscription of patriarchal norms. Lydia Chukovskaya, writing immediately after the Great Terror, (Sofia Petrovna, written 1939-40) produced a text that started in a typical Socialist Realist mode only to reveal the brutality of Stalinist terror and subverted the Socialist Realist structure by positing the possibility that only horizontal solidarity of communities of the oppressed, rather than a top-down party led hierarchy, could provide wider ideas and awareness.

„Romanticism in Socialist Realism“ (History of the Soviet Literary Studies)

2024-02-13T15:37:18+04:00

In 1950 and 60s, the tendency to expand the boundaries of the new esthetic paradigm intensified. In 1968, Alexei Ovcharenko's study "Socialist Realism and the Modern Literary Process" was published. The Soviet scientist substantiated the need to determine the differences between the concepts of "method" and "style", "romanticism" and "romance". One of the chapters of the monograph: "Romanticism in Soviet Literature" became the subject of a wide theoretical controversy in 1969-1970. This was of great importance for the development of Soviet literary criticism.

The article examines the views and arguments expressed by Soviet scientists in the worldview paradigm and general cultural context of that period.

Philosophy of Absurd and the Theater of Absurd, and their Soviet Reflection Theoretical Studies

2024-02-13T15:42:51+04:00

The article deals with the issue of formation and development of the philosophy of existentialism and absurd and its influence on the theatre of absurd, which was established in European literature and culture in 1950s. One of the goals of the article is the reflection of the absurd philosophy and playwriting in Soviet Union. Works of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre and Camus are overlooked. Special attention is done on the reflection of Camu’s Myth of Sisyphus in the Soviet criticism and literature.

From Social Realism to Magic Realism

2024-02-09T16:10:45+04:00

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.

Ukrainian "Sixties" and their Role In the Issue of Defining National Identity in the Era of Socialist Realism

2024-02-09T16:17:42+04:00

Modern life has outlined the issue of the Ukrainian nation, Ukrainian culture more actual and dolorous. Ukraine came into the world's attention not only due to geopolitical events and reasons, but also due to its cultural heritage, which undoubtedly deserves observation and analysis.

The concept of identity was defined differently in the sixties of the twentieth century. The young generation known as the "sixties" focused not on place and appearance, but on memory and attitudes.

The Epoch that Did Not Happen. The Poem of the Perished and Its Relationship to History

2024-02-09T16:24:52+04:00

It is difficult to exclude the expression of socialist realism in Lithuanian literature because of a deep coup d’état of intellectual values caused after the Soviets occupied Lithuania in 1940, in a System collapsing and masking political facts. Then, a year later, when the German occupation started, all the horrors of the Soviet occupation revealed their reality, the grip of censorship fell, and a call to the nation began... At that time, Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas (1893-1967) created a poem which would become a great historical exception from the poetry of the Soviet era, which, after the return of the Red Army in 1944 “folded its wings” against propaganda and censorship legitimising the occupation, and against the introduction of the dogma of socialist realism in literature. The fate of Putinas’ poem became exceptional, breaking destinies by circulating in the underground and remaining anonymous, as the author could not name himself for the sake of survival in literature, spreading from the partisans’ movement to the American Lithuanian press. It is worth taking note of three factors: a) the relevance of the courage of the poem’s insights, which are constantly reborn at the non-end of the story; b) the controversy of the relationship between the poem and the author in the era of “socialist realism” and the uncertainty of that era, which penetrated even the life of a famous writer, fearing the openness of historical truth, c) significance of the creation date of the poem “Vivos plango. Mortuos voco” (1943), its spontaneous spread, concealment of authorship and the circumstances of its returned relevance in the present, which speak of its phenomenon, overshadowing the ineffectiveness of the “socialist realism” introduced by the Soviets in the context of Lithuanian literature.

Interpretations of the Reriod of "Thaw": Georgian Example

2024-02-09T16:28:20+04:00

The tendencies, which were typical for the Soviet literature of the thaw period, found their reflection in the creations of those Georgian writers who established themselves on literary arena in the 1960s. The writers of the “sixties” totally opposed to all that had become an unbearable anachronism of the outer reality: lie, institute of “social order”, Stalin’s “classicism”, and etc. At the same time, they were the first who managed to “break” through the normative aesthetics of socialist realism, cover the deficit of sincerity of feeling and truthfulness existing in Georgian literary space, change partially the Stalinist tropes established in previous decades.

Soviet Folklore and Social Realism

2024-02-13T16:07:36+04:00

In 1934, the first All-Union Congress of Writers of the Soviet Union was held in Moscow, the congress declared socialist realism as the only artistic and literary creative method of Soviet literature and completely subordinated art to ideology.

The development of Soviet folklore was also based on social realism. Socialist reality was the basis of the repertoire of public speakers. Folk poetry became "national in form, socialist in content" (Stalin).

Soviet folklore was actively involved in public life. On the one hand, it reflected the new existential reality, on the other hand, it paved the way for new forms of life. "Folk creativity is an agitation and propaganda form of life."

For the History of Soviet Folklore – The Issue of the Relationship Between Folklore and Pseudo-Folklore

2024-02-13T16:25:58+04:00

The folklore of the Soviet period was a particular stage in the history of folk creativity. To confirm its folk origin and legitimacy, the Soviet government armed itself with folklore tradition and actively developed work in this direction.

At the beginning of the 1930s, according to party instructions, folklorists were instructed to help speakers create a new type of work that reflected the grandeur of the new era. This is how the literary cooperation between the folklorist and the narrator was established.

The coexistence of pro-Soviet orality and the Soviet myth embedded in the people defines the folklore of the Soviet era, which was born after the October Revolution and ended with the death of Stalin.

Soviet Memory and Narrative Discourse (According to Oral Histories)

2024-02-13T16:31:23+04:00

Various events of the Soviet period are not still properly evaluated. Not taking into account the general public, even in history textbooks and scientific society there is not a fully convincing argument to understand this or that Soviet event and the positive and negative sides of the regime itself in general. All mentioned facts, in their turn, lead to various attitudes that exist today on the part of the society towards the regime. This might be caused by a number of factors, one of which is that there is lack of discussion about revaluing the Soviet past.

The Reverse Side of the Socialist Realist Canon: the Experience of Ukrainian Literature

2024-02-09T12:19:34+04:00

The concept of literary canon to be surprisingly organic for description of what has been formed for a long time through totalitarian state mechanisms, in particular, in Ukrainian Soviet literature. Such canon is extremely structured, but not frozen. The totalitarian nature of this canon meant that nothing could exist outside of it. What was outside these limits we mean by the flip side of a socialist realist canon. These are not only the forbidden texts and authors, but also the transformation of the canon itself, when its front side turned into the reverse side; these are different editions of texts; these are textbooks in literary history, and the changes they underwent; counter-discourse in “samizdat” and the diaspora, etc. The normativity of the socialist realist canon only contributes to the reconstruction of its reverse side.

„Victory Over the Sun” – a New Reality Built with Social Realist „Iconography“

2024-02-09T12:27:13+04:00

Boris Groys in „Gesamtkunstwerk Stalin“ argues, that social realism is not the opposite of the Soviet avant-garde, but its ideological successor, since both are built around the idea of a new human and a new reality. Both also follows a triumphant line of victory over nature, which can be read as overcoming poverty and obscurantism, that can be considered a type of Soviet modernism.

Nutsa Ghoghoberidze's "Uzhmuri" is the best example of "transitivity" from one stage to another, in which the expressive visual view of the avant-garde director and the propagandist narrative of the socialist realist art are layered together.

Socialist Realism Trends in the Creation of the „New Soviet Man“ in Georgian Cinema of the 1930s.

2024-02-09T12:58:12+04:00

Socialist Realism is a trend that accurately reflects the spirit of the era, the basic requirements of the new state, the new ideology. It enshrines in art and reality the ideal images of Soviet society, man, moral and ethical codes, the "Soviet" style of life and relations.

In the 1930s, in a country completely isolated from Western civilisation, the experiments begun in the Soviet film avant-garde of 1925 to create a new man became increasingly relevant. Christian morality began to be replaced by Soviet morality, personal space disappeared, and collective, mass thinking took shape.

The new trend of "socialist realism", which emerged in art during the years of Soviet repression, asserted double standards of life in society, adaptation and conformism in all social strata.

Soviet Reality, „General Line“ and „Artistic“ Forgery in Georgian Cinema of the 30s

2024-02-09T15:53:06+04:00

At the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, the framed and ideologised Georgian art was violated like flying comets by the flashes of individuals and small "artistic associations" and the brilliance of their created works of art. Since 1932, the authorities of the SU, laid the foundation for a new and comprehensive ideology, "method of description" and legalized it as a universal mandatory "rule" – Socialist Realism. "Social order", didacticism, straight-line propaganda, as well as limitation of themes, artificiality of conflicts and characters, over-simplification, fakeness and lies became the main issue. All the doors of free thinking, personal will, creative expression were closed.

The Personality Cult and Socialist Realist Eroticism

2024-02-09T15:59:12+04:00

The paper investigates the personality cult and erotic dimension of the party leaders in the so-called ‘artistic documentaries’ – fictionalised historical-revolutionary films produced in the 1930s and 1940s. It examines the erotic power was constructed around Stalin’s and Lenin’s figures and distributed through them. It argues that in the process, Stalin not only stepped out from Lenin’s shadow as a genuine leader of the working class and subsequently of the Soviet Union, but he also stepped out and overshadowed the eroticism which initially was embodied in Lenin’s character in these films and from the end of 1930s was transferred to Stalin. Also, if Stalin appears as a locus of heterosexual desire, Lenin first generates and evokes a homosexual one.

These Texts Will be Saved by Readers

2024-02-13T15:47:41+04:00

Texts that were created as examples of socialist realism in the Soviet era have two meanings today. First, their literary value and the recognition that, despite the ideological meaning, they carry a certain artistic value.

Simultaneously, these texts have a historical significance, because in order to analyze the past, the literary heritage is given an immeasurably high price.

At the same time, rereading social realist texts requires us to recognize the special function of a language, to understand the reader's participation in the process of text creation and to consider the literary tradition.

The Influence of Soviet Economic Reforms on the People according to Folklore Materials

2024-02-13T15:54:27+04:00

Among the many reforms of the Soviet Union, the land reform stood out because it directly affected the people. In the paper, we discuss how the process of exclusion and marginalization of rich peasants, kulaks, and society after the Mensheviks and the clergy was reflected in the folklore of the 1920s-30s; How people became similar to the government, and folklore – to government propaganda; How the government created a tandem with the proletariat and deprived people without material possessions of spiritual values and the right to express their own opinion.

„Their Eyes Should Not See Blood, Mariam!..“ (Food for Thought About Leo Kacheli’s Novel „Gvadi Bigva“)

2024-02-13T15:59:07+04:00

Despite the fact that the famous Georgian writer Leo Kiacheli (1884-1963), in his youth, was engaged in certain revolutionary activities, his "interest" in the principles of socialist realism still leaves the impression of a kind of political compulsion. Nevertheless, Leo Kiacheli in the novel “Gvadi Bigva” managed to portray, more or less faithfully, the struggle of different social forces on the example of a Georgian village in the 1930s. In the last phrase of Gvadi ("Their [children’s] eyes should not see blood, Mariam!..") one can quite possibly read veiled criticism of any kind of violence (including the Bolshevik one).