During the period of glasnost, between 1985 and 1990, all of Russian literature changed. After 60 years of division between official and unofficial, dissident and emigre, the publishing of Russian literature became unified. Censorship and government control practically disintegrated. Among the "new voices" in Russian literature is…

Russian Village Prose began in the 1950s with articles critical of the way collective farms were being managed and developed into an insider's view of rural life and a celebration of the values and rituals of traditional rural Russia. It represented a new approach to rural themes and characters and a return to literature of high aesthetic quality…

Provides examples of Soviet literature which describe the character and everyday life of children during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Includes information on how political and economic realities shape the Soviet character. (JDH)

Describes benefits of teaching a course on the Soviet press to Russian language students, including the opportunity to integrate practical considerations of reading and conversation skills with theoretical considerations of philosophy and principles of mass communication in the Soviet Union. (Author/BK)

This essay examines American awareness of Soviet literature and writers and vice versa and discusses problems involved in making Soviet literature available to Americans. Highlights include accessibility through public and private libraries and establishing and publicizing a Soviet writings library collection. Some Soviet publications and…

Suggests that conflicts in early Soviet literature over reader's identity and function presages many issues in critical understanding of audiences, especially as reflected in the antithetical Frankfurt and Birmingham School positions. Argues that how the mass reader was invoked, defined, and appropriated for institutional needs in the Soviet…

Describes the "study tour of the Soviet Union," for several years a feature of the three-week interim term at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Discusses tour organization, related orientation activities and itineraries, dwelling at length on problems encountered, especially recent last-minute denials of visa to group leaders. (MES)

Describes student tours to the Soviet Union, discussing the benefits to be derived from such experiences by both students and leaders. In particular, discusses the organization of the tours, their types and costs, advertising strategies, suggested itineraries and guidebooks, student orientation and group composition, and problems encountered…

Calls for new textbooks to teach Russian literature. Complains of inappropriate wording for young people, officious and boring content, and a lack of humanistic themes in existing textbooks. Suggests that a text be compiled from among the best literary and critical articles to develop in students a love and understanding of literature. (DK)

It is widely believed that poetry in the Soviet Union has lost its place to newspapers and periodicals that have robbed literature of its readers. Prior to glasnost, non-official literature in the Soviet Union was more than a literary event; it was often the only mode of political discourse available to the literate public. This paper suggests…

Puts four poems written by Vladimir Mayakovsky into social and historical context by performing a content analysis. Discusses the revolutionary nature of the poetic and typographic communication and the circumstances surrounding the poems' publication. (KEH)

Describes a six-month retraining program developed for Israel's Russian-speaking immigrant librarians and information specialists that includes Hebrew language, Jewish and Israeli history, English, and library automation. Differences from the Soviet library system are discussed, including censorship and public libraries, and characteristics of the…

The two chapters translated here from the book "Public Education in Developed Socialist Society" discuss (1) the teaching of the Russian language in the republic of Kirgizia (USSR) and (2) the role that education must play in incorporating non-Russian nationalities such as the Kirgiz people into a common, Soviet national culture. (RM)

Explores difficulties in translating and understanding visual poetry created by a linguistically different culture. Provides historical context and analyzes the design process of El Lissitzky's typographic presentation of Vladimir Mayakovsky's poems. Transposes the visual wordplays found in the original Cyrillic typography into the Roman alphabet.…