The attitude to religion in the new Russian literature

Abstract

Soviet social life is no longer uniform. There are several officially-tolerated trends within it. One can speak now of a limited cultural pluralism, within a certain framework. For example, one trend in Soviet literature which has attracted the attention of many observers for several years reflects the Russian national orientation, even Russian nationalism, though it is certainly limited in its authentic expression by ideolOgical supervision. 1 Nevertheless it is very distinct and has several specific features. We shall call this trend the New Russian Literature. It can be regarded as Russian national opposition to contemporary industrial society, to urbanization, to mass culture, and to official ideology. Why such a trend is permitted in the USSR even in a curtailed form is an important question, which I have discussed elsewhere.2 Here we need note only that at the present time part of the central Party apparatus (whose national composition is Russian) is making use of Russian nationalism in the political struggle against such political forces as republican Party organizations, the ideological sector of the Party, and the military-industrial complex. The aim of this political group is to demonstrate that the fast-proceeding national integration in the USSR, expansion and the arms race are undermining the Russian demographic base lipld harming the political stability of the USSR. Of course, at the base of this lies the Russian demographic catastrophe. In speaking of the support for Russian nationalism on the part of this or that group in the Soviet leadership, we should emphasize that there are genuine spiritual causes for this movement. Without these natural roots it could not have become a significant social current and attracted so many adherents. Here we shall analyse only one aspect of the New Russian Literature, its attitude to religion, whioh is far removed from the usual treatment of religious problems in Soviet literature. However one must understand that this attitude is expressed obliquely and needs careful interpretation.