“Man with a Capital M”? Lenin’s Image and Its Metamorphoses in Gorky’s Work

The article discusses repeated attempts of Maxim Gorky to embody the image of the leader of the Russian revolution, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin in the verbal form, in the period from 1920 to 1930. In 1917–1918, Lenin and his allies were objects of severe criticism. In 1920, Gorky made the first attempt t...

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Main Author: Natalia N. Primochkina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature 2019-09-01
Series:Studia Litterarum
Subjects:
Online Access:http://studlit.ru/images/2019-4-3/Primochkina.pdf
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author Natalia N. Primochkina
author_facet Natalia N. Primochkina
author_sort Natalia N. Primochkina
collection DOAJ
description The article discusses repeated attempts of Maxim Gorky to embody the image of the leader of the Russian revolution, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin in the verbal form, in the period from 1920 to 1930. In 1917–1918, Lenin and his allies were objects of severe criticism. In 1920, Gorky made the first attempt to represent Lenin but in fiction did it so abortively that Bolsheviks and Russian intelligentsia took it for a mockery or caricature. Right after the death of Lenin, at the beginning of 1924, Gorky wrote his famous essay “Vladimir Lenin” that for the first time, calls Lenin a man with a capital M. However, in 1930, Gorky had to considerably revise the essay under the pressure of the communist party authorities. In the second edition, the author seemingly intended to create a verbal monument to the great man, “inspirer and leader of the proletarians of all countries,” liberating his turning-into-bronze image from controversial details. In the 1930s, Lenin remained the ideal Man with a capital “M” for Gorky, but Gorky had to “correct” this ideal by adjusting it to the requirements of the time and political situation.
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spelling doaj-art-ef12a55aa14749b9844aeba42a3b09672025-08-20T02:05:04ZengRussian Academy of Sciences, A.M. Gorky Institute of World LiteratureStudia Litterarum2500-42472541-85642019-09-014326828910.22455/2500-4247-2019-4-3-268-289“Man with a Capital M”? Lenin’s Image and Its Metamorphoses in Gorky’s Work Natalia N. Primochkina0A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, MoscowThe article discusses repeated attempts of Maxim Gorky to embody the image of the leader of the Russian revolution, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin in the verbal form, in the period from 1920 to 1930. In 1917–1918, Lenin and his allies were objects of severe criticism. In 1920, Gorky made the first attempt to represent Lenin but in fiction did it so abortively that Bolsheviks and Russian intelligentsia took it for a mockery or caricature. Right after the death of Lenin, at the beginning of 1924, Gorky wrote his famous essay “Vladimir Lenin” that for the first time, calls Lenin a man with a capital M. However, in 1930, Gorky had to considerably revise the essay under the pressure of the communist party authorities. In the second edition, the author seemingly intended to create a verbal monument to the great man, “inspirer and leader of the proletarians of all countries,” liberating his turning-into-bronze image from controversial details. In the 1930s, Lenin remained the ideal Man with a capital “M” for Gorky, but Gorky had to “correct” this ideal by adjusting it to the requirements of the time and political situation.http://studlit.ru/images/2019-4-3/Primochkina.pdfМ. GorkyLenin's charactermetamorphosisideal person
spellingShingle Natalia N. Primochkina
“Man with a Capital M”? Lenin’s Image and Its Metamorphoses in Gorky’s Work
Studia Litterarum
М. Gorky
Lenin's character
metamorphosis
ideal person
title “Man with a Capital M”? Lenin’s Image and Its Metamorphoses in Gorky’s Work
title_full “Man with a Capital M”? Lenin’s Image and Its Metamorphoses in Gorky’s Work
title_fullStr “Man with a Capital M”? Lenin’s Image and Its Metamorphoses in Gorky’s Work
title_full_unstemmed “Man with a Capital M”? Lenin’s Image and Its Metamorphoses in Gorky’s Work
title_short “Man with a Capital M”? Lenin’s Image and Its Metamorphoses in Gorky’s Work
title_sort man with a capital m lenin s image and its metamorphoses in gorky s work
topic М. Gorky
Lenin's character
metamorphosis
ideal person
url http://studlit.ru/images/2019-4-3/Primochkina.pdf
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