Abstract
John Keep, Emancipation by the axe? Peasant revolts in Russian thought and literature. Contrary to widespread opinion, a continuous thread runs from the 17th- and 18th-century Russian peasant revolts to the agrarian revolutions of 1905 and 1917, manifested in the survival of social Utopian myths. The Razin legendary cycle, distorting Christian teaching, presents the "liberator" as an avenging apostle. Russian writers from Pushkin onward, and later social theorists, took up the theme of agrarian violence but were shocked by the brutal events of 1917-1918. Early Soviet writers (e.g. L. Leonov) offered a critical portrait of the peasant revolutionaries, but subsequently this theme has been neglected. A comparison of two novels on the Razin revolt (A. P. Chapygin, 1927; S. Zlobin, 1951) illustrates changes in the official ideology and Soviet literary taste; popular mythology is today manipulated for mundane political ends.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
