The Soviet Writers' Union and Its Leaders - Identity and Authority under Stalin (Paperback)

The Soviet Writers' Union offered writers elite status and material luxuries in exchange for literature that championed the state. This book argues that Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin chose leaders for this crucial organization, such as Maxim Gorky and Alexander Fadeyev, who had psychological traits he could exploit. Stalin ensured their loyalty with various rewards but also with a philosophical argument calculated to assuage moral qualms, allowing them to feel they were not trading ethics for self-interest. Employing close textual analysis of public and private documents including speeches, debate transcripts, personal letters, and diaries, Carol Any exposes the misgivings of Writers' Union leaders as well as the arguments they constructed when faced with a cognitive dissonance. She tells a dramatic story that reveals the interdependence of literary policy, communist morality, state-sponsored terror, party infighting, and personal psychology. This book will be an important reference for scholars of the Soviet Union as well as anyone interested in identity, the construction of culture, and the interface between art and ideology.

General

Imprint:	Northwestern University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Studies in Russian Literature and Theory
Release date:	October 2020
Authors:	Carol Any
Dimensions:	229 x 152mm (L x W)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	336
ISBN-13:	978-0-8101-4275-6
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literary & linguistic reference works > Literary reference works Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > General Books > Humanities > History > European history > General Books > History > European history > General Promotions
LSN:	0-8101-4275-9
Barcode:	9780810142756

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!