The Christian Idea in the Soviet Literature

Abstract

Contrary to common belief, Russian literature of the Soviet period was never a “waste of time” for our culture. No socialist realism could tear it completely off from the Orthodox worldview and the classical Russian literature. As for the works of that period written with the hidden agenda, they have long since been duly forgotten. In the Soviet years, the reality of the so-called literary process appeared to be distorted: there were books that received prizes, and other books that people read and discussed. Time, however, straightens everything and puts things in their proper place. The works of writers who felt that they belonged to the great Russian literature stand out clearly from the political and social framework of this historical period. They are, in essence, a bridge from the pre-revolutionary Orthodox culture to our time. We can be fi rmly justifi ed in saying that the literature of the Soviet period was hardly the “bearer of the Christian message”. And yet, to call it entirely anti-Christian would be equally wrong. The author of the article researches this phenomenon through the works by Andrey Platonov, Mikhail Sholokhov, Nikolai Zabolotsky, Nikolai Rubtsov and Vasily Shukshin. The article examines the works of these authors, and reveals their hidden Christian or close enough character, ideas, images and moods. In general, even taking into account the necessary reverence to the system, the Soviet literature in its best representation was a worthy continuation of the classic Russian one. Sadly, the current literature in our country has not yet managed to become even a remote successor of the Soviet literature.