The Generation of “Stagnation” in E. Kochergin’s Angel’s Doll and V. Lyubarov’s Feast without a Cause

Abstract

The article deals with the late Soviet period people’s attitude to the world, referring to books by artists: Angel’s Doll by E. Kochergin and Feast without a Cause by V. Lyubarov. Both books are autobiographical, and describe the authors’ childhood and youth, as well as the formation of the artists, and the beginning of their creative life. The choice is motivated by the fact that both authors are fulfilled men, and prominent artists, giving an example of how to be happy in spite of the time and circumstances. The interest in the material is caused by infrequent failures of communication between generations under abrupt transformations of the social and cultural situation. Literature tends to transfer life experience. And it is not by chance that different genres of nonfiction, including memoirs, are actively developing. The author shares the opinion of A. Yurchak, according to whom people of “stagnation” periods cannot be divided only into conformists and dissidents. The last Soviet generation did not share the official ideology, taking the position of outsiders. Thus, for Kochergin, the space of freedom was his work as a theatre painter, and for Lyubarov as an illustrator. The books in question were written during the post-Soviet period, and describe the time that saw their creative development. Being older than his counterpart, Kochergin begins with the characteristics of the late Stalin period, and Lyubarov focuses on the Thaw, Brezhnev time and Perestroika. The difference in their life experience led to a difference in the tone of the narrative: stories by Kochergin are more tragic; stories by Lyubarov are more ironic. Both authors use the oral storytelling tradition, and masterfully reproduce the vernacular of their era. The books in question depict exceptional characters: talented, gifted, masters of their craft, and eccentrics. Being memoirs in nature, the books have an important function: they transmit the live experience of a person that managed to realize their gift, despite all the adverse circumstances.