Trifonov’s and Makanin’s eternal themes

Abstract

The article analyzes and compares the artistic worlds of Y. Trifonov and V. Makanin. The two had common ground, describing the life and psychology of a modern urban dweller. Originally considered Trifonov’s follower, Makanin then began to turn away from the former’s creative approach. While Trifonov concerned himself with the problem of moral choice and conformism, Makanin emphasized a person’s dependence on circumstances, as well as biological and existential realities. An adherent of psychological realism, Trifonov worked to broaden and develop its expressive means. Makanin used to draw extensively on conventionality patterns, turning to detachment and the grotesque in his depictions of human situations. Trifonov’s works dissected the crisis of Soviet ideology and accompanying moral collisions, whereas Makanin analyzed the archetypes and invariants of human existence and behavior at the times of transition to post-humanism. The author argues that the polemic between Makanin and Trifonov went on for years after the latter’s death, stimulating Makanin’s creative search.