Gorky’s Work and the Rise of Social Realism

In 1932, the Communist party ideologists called Maxim Gorky the founder of socialist realism at the behest of Stalin. This tag has turned into an ideological cliché that accompanies the writer’s image even in the present day and does not allow us to see him as a talented artist who sought to create...

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Main Author: Lydia A. Spiridonova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature 2018-03-01
Series:Studia Litterarum
Subjects:
Online Access:http://studlit.ru/images/2018-3-1/Spiridonova.pdf
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author Lydia A. Spiridonova
author_facet Lydia A. Spiridonova
author_sort Lydia A. Spiridonova
collection DOAJ
description In 1932, the Communist party ideologists called Maxim Gorky the founder of socialist realism at the behest of Stalin. This tag has turned into an ideological cliché that accompanies the writer’s image even in the present day and does not allow us to see him as a talented artist who sought to create a new method in Russian literature. Believing classical realism to be outdated already at the beginning of the 20 th century, Gorky called for such artistic format that would describe human life from the height of futuristic ideals. Starting with the novella Mother (1906), he sought to implement the synthesis of artistic consciousness with socialist ideals that he considered the means of harmonious rearrangement of the new world. In The Tales about Italy and in the autobiographical trilogy (Childhood, My Apprenticeship, and My Universities), Gorky’s dream of the happier future life under socialism manifests itself through the synthesis of realism and romanticism. In his late years, while advocating the method of “social realism” in his essays, Gorky did not write a single fictional work that would incarnate dogmatic principles that were developed already after his death.
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spelling doaj-art-365e349669cb4abc85031b9acb7a4e122025-08-20T02:01:42ZengRussian Academy of Sciences, A.M. Gorky Institute of World LiteratureStudia Litterarum2500-42472541-85642018-03-013121223310.22455/2500-4247-2018-3-1-212-233Gorky’s Work and the Rise of Social RealismLydia A. Spiridonova0A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of SciencesIn 1932, the Communist party ideologists called Maxim Gorky the founder of socialist realism at the behest of Stalin. This tag has turned into an ideological cliché that accompanies the writer’s image even in the present day and does not allow us to see him as a talented artist who sought to create a new method in Russian literature. Believing classical realism to be outdated already at the beginning of the 20 th century, Gorky called for such artistic format that would describe human life from the height of futuristic ideals. Starting with the novella Mother (1906), he sought to implement the synthesis of artistic consciousness with socialist ideals that he considered the means of harmonious rearrangement of the new world. In The Tales about Italy and in the autobiographical trilogy (Childhood, My Apprenticeship, and My Universities), Gorky’s dream of the happier future life under socialism manifests itself through the synthesis of realism and romanticism. In his late years, while advocating the method of “social realism” in his essays, Gorky did not write a single fictional work that would incarnate dogmatic principles that were developed already after his death.http://studlit.ru/images/2018-3-1/Spiridonova.pdfGorkyStalinsocialist realismsynthesis of realism and modernism
spellingShingle Lydia A. Spiridonova
Gorky’s Work and the Rise of Social Realism
Studia Litterarum
Gorky
Stalin
socialist realism
synthesis of realism and modernism
title Gorky’s Work and the Rise of Social Realism
title_full Gorky’s Work and the Rise of Social Realism
title_fullStr Gorky’s Work and the Rise of Social Realism
title_full_unstemmed Gorky’s Work and the Rise of Social Realism
title_short Gorky’s Work and the Rise of Social Realism
title_sort gorky s work and the rise of social realism
topic Gorky
Stalin
socialist realism
synthesis of realism and modernism
url http://studlit.ru/images/2018-3-1/Spiridonova.pdf
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