Perception of Alfred Doblin’s personality and work in the USSR in the 1930s

Abstract

The article examines the critical articles devoted to the publication of Alfred Döblin’s novels in the USSR in the 1930s, as well as the material of letters sent to the author by the editors of the International Literature journal and the Foreign Commission of the Union of Soviet Writers. The main aspects of the criticism of the novels presented in the articles are analyzed: the expressive mode of presentation, the fragmentary nature of the descriptions, the absence of a clear political position of the author, the reflection in the texts of the decline of capitalist society and the struggle of the proletariat. The material of the letters shows the interest of the Soviet society and authorities in the work of Alfred Döblin, in his personality, creative method and political position. For the first time, the material of the letters is being introduced into the scientific circulation, which helps to complete the understanding of the attitude to the author’s work and personality in the 1930s in the USSR.