The Bible and the Zoo in Andrey Sinyavsky's The Trial Begins

Abstract

Biblical imagery plays an integral stylistic and thematic role in Andrey Sinyavsky's The Trial Begins. Simplified Old and New Testament concepts are used as focal points of allegory to expose the theology of the Soviet system and the sanctified person of Stalin. Through the use of such Biblical analogues as a prophet, the Fall, the Atonement, the Mosaic Law, the New Testament Gospel, the Promised Land, the scapegoat, and the account of Abraham and Isaac, Sinyavsky vents his dissident spleen against the excesses of an absolutist system's pursuit of the Great Goal. The system perceives itself as deified but fails because it does not possess the attributes of deity and because it runs amuck of an “end justifies the means” approach to implementation. To amplify his discussion of gods, victims, and sacrifices, Sinyavsky also utilizes animal imagery and focusses on the scapegoat and the prison‐like aura of the zoo. The Biblical conclusions of The Trial Begins indict the system from a New Testament perspective and expose the gospel, deities, and disciples as tragic imitations of ideal originals.