Soviet Culture and Power: A History in Documents, 1917-1953 (Annals of Communism Series)

"Leaders of the Soviet Union, Stalin chief among them, well understood the power of art, and their response was to attempt to control and direct it in every way possible. This book examines Soviet cultural politics from the Revolution to Stalin's death in 1953. Drawing on a wealth of newly released documents from the archives of the former Soviet Union, the book provides remarkable insight on relations between Gorky, Pasternak, Babel, Meyerhold, Shostakovich, Eisenstein, and many other intellectuals and the Soviet leadership. Stalin's role in directing these relations, and his literary judgments and personal biases, will astonish many." "The documents presented in this volume reflect the progression of Party control in the arts. They include decisions of the Politburo, Stalin's correspondence with individual intellectuals, his responses to particular plays, novels, and movie scripts, petitions to leaders from intellectuals, and secret police reports on intellectuals under surveillance. Introductions, explanatory materials, and a biographical index accompany the documents."--Jacket "Prohibit travel . . ." "The utterly indecent proposal to preserve the Bolshoi theater" Organizing the "artistic milieu" : the era of NEP The organization of proletarian art : the cultural revolution "Gorky, whom no one takes seriously in politics" "Work with the anti-Soviet intelligentsia" The thirties Introduction. the culture of high Stalinism, 1932 - 1941 The demise of RAPP The writers' congress The gorky factor The union of Soviet writers Stalin and the Moscow Art Theater The anti-formalist campaign The campaign for a patriotic culture The censorship Presenting the image of the leader Stalin as patron-potentate Reports on writers from the NKVD and Soviet officials Petitions to Stalin The Stalin-Sholokhov exchange The forties introduction. The culture of late Stalinism, 1941 - 1953 The literaryfFront:: the war The literary front : Zhdanovism and beyond The most important art Moments musicaux The revolution has ended at the point where it began.