Three vectors of art criticism in the USSR. 1970s

Abstract

1970s in the Soviet Union are considered as a time of stagnation and stasis. Nevertheless, this decade was full of creative, controversial cultural events and excellent works of their talented participants. The review and critical articles from the periodicals, specialized magazines and hand-written materials differed in various assessments of artistic events. The Marxist-Leninist critique, adjusted into a single mould since 1930s, was losing its uniformity. As a result, in 1970s the three major vectors of the critical thought emerged in the USSR: prescriptive, communicative and informal. The article is devoted to the analysis of each direction of art criticism of that period.