In this commentary, the author stresses that reading habits in Russia have changed since the Soviet era, and the more intellectual journals and magazines in particular have lost their importance. Audiences for books and magazines have fragmented, and there are fewer sources of commonly shared information and ideas than was true a few decades ago.…

Practically no one will dispute that the future of Russia depends on the successfulness of the multifaceted modernization of Russian society, a task that cannot be confined solely to the socioeconomic sphere. The most fundamental task is that of changing the societal system of values and institutions. If Russia is to modernize successfully, the…

Provides a psychohistorical perspective on the Russian poet, Marina Tsvetayeva, who committed suicide in 1941. Offers a critical analysis of Boris Pasternak's (1983) "I Remember: Sketch for an Autobiography" to yield several points to consider in interpreting motives for suicides. (SR)

On 28 November 2006 Russia observes the one-hundredth anniversary of Dmitrii Sergeevich Likhachev. By an edict of President V.V. Putin 2006 has been designated the year of D.S. Likhachev. A scientist of encyclopedic scope and a renowned researcher into Old Russian literature, Academician Likhachev became, starting in the second half of the 1980s,…

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…

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)

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov spent 6 of the last 7 years of his life at Yalta (located on the Crimean Peninsula) where he had a house constructed in order that he might live in a climate favorable to his failing health. During these years Chekhov married the actress Olga Knipper and met Leo Tolstoy, who was near the end of his life. Chekhov also…

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…

A special issue devoted to A.S. Puskin, this volume opens with an essay on Puskin's treatment of the theme "Freedom and Law" and proceeds with essays on some of his individual works. These are followed by a bibliography section, an English translation of his "Poltava", and a book review section. (MES)

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…

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…

Two articles originally published in the 1970s are reprinted. The first argues that the American writer no longer knows what is expected of him and has difficulty engaging in conversation with the reader. The second examines the work and teaching of Joseph Brodsky, a Russian poet, while in the United States. (MSE)

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…

Discusses English reading texts used in the Soviet Union, which are English translations of Russian literature. Notes that such literature divides attention between the traditional and the progressive elements of Soviet culture. (DF)