On Early Russian Reception of Mikhail Bakhtin's Work: The Case of Vladimir Turbin, or Staying at the 'Boundary of Silence'

Abstract

The history of the Soviet reception of Mikhail Bakhtin’s heritage and ideas has not been written yet. The present working paper is a case study of works by Vladimir N. Turbin (1927-1993) who was one of the early Bakhtin’s followers in the USSR. The paper examines Turbin’s books (A Short While Before Aquarius, A Farewell to Epos) and his articles in different years (including published posthumously) related to Bakhtin, his life, theories, and ideas. The careful exploration of these works enables to explain why the proper reception of Bakhtin’s heritage in the USSR in the 1960-70s did not take place and why the book Turbin wanted to write about his teacher has not been written. Turbin’s case allows to argue that Bakhtin’s reception was not successful because of different nature as compared to all of his contemporaries and conversation partners