Magazines of science fiction and adventure “Ural Pathfinderˮ and “Seekerˮ as sources on the history of the Soviet intelligentsia

Abstract

The article examines the source value of the Soviet popular magazines “Ural Pathfinder” and “Seeker”. First of all, the author considers the social and moral-political conditions in which these magazines were created. It is emphasized that both publications appeared at about the same time, at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, at the beginning of the so-called “Golden age” of Soviet science fiction, when a galaxy of young and active science fiction writers entered the arena of literary life. The appearance of magazines was a response to the request of Soviet readers, first of all, the intelligentsia, who needed new publications of science fiction and adventure themes. The content of these publications was also analyzed. There were differences between the magazines. The “Ural Pathfinder” was not only a literary and artistic publication, but also a popular scientific, historical, geographical, and local history publication. “Seeker” was a literary supplement to “Around the world”. Also, over time, by the 1980s, magazines acquired different ideological colors in the eyes of the Soviet intelligentsia, which, however, did not affect their popularity. At the end, the research results are summarized. In relation to the history of the intelligentsia, the source potential of magazines is limited by a number of factors. Among them, censorship restrictions and ideological divisions among the Soviet intelligentsia occupy an important place. However, the analyzed publications can serve as sources on the following aspects: the history of the Soviet press, primarily popular publications; the development of regional journalism; coverage of local history and environmental issues, issues of youth education (based on the materials of the “Ural Pathfinder”); the composition of the authors of fantasy and adventure works, their plot component.