ბრძოლა ფორმალიზმის წინააღმდეგ სტალინურ ეპოქაში (მეოცე საუკუნის 30-იანი წლები)

Abstract

Viktor Shklovsky’s article “The South-West” appeared in “Literaturnaya Gazeta” on January 5, 1933. As the author writes, “South- West” is a title of one of E. Bagritsky’s books, and geographically “South-West” is Odessa. The author considers the South-West literary school, the traditions of which are obscure. “The complexity of the issue lies in the fact that the South-West School is a school of Russian literature realized on Ukrainian territory. Much can be explained by the fact that Odessa is a seaport. Particularly difficult is the issue of the relationship between Russian and Ukrainian cultures (Shklovsky, 1990:470). The article came out in a time of the active work of the Organizing Committee of the Writers’ Union of the USSR and preparation for the First Congress of the Soviet Writers convened in 1934. After the publication of this article, Viktor Shklovsky was recognized as a supporter of the division of a single, indivisible Soviet literature and an opponent of Socialist Realism. According to critics, the author of the article was referring to those writers who followed a single, common path in Soviet literature. The campaign against formalism was launched, and it affected not only literature, but also other areas of art and tragically reflected in the fate of many creative figures. The sensational performances staged at the Rustaveli Theatre: “In Tirranos! (the premiere was held on February 9, 1933) “Lamara” and “Tetnuldi” can be cited as an example. With these performances the troupe visited Moscow and Leningrad in the summer of 1933. “However, this time the Moscow press critically assessed the work of the theatre and, along with its great achievements, noted a tendency towards ethnographic exoticism and formalism manifested in the plays “Lamara” and “Tetnuldi” ( Fevralsky, 1959:167 ). A heated discussion about Viktor Shklovsky’s article broke out in the newspaper “Izvestia” and continued in many periodicals, among which “Literaturnaya Gazeta” was particularly distinguished. The call to “intensify the fight against Formalism” takes on an astonishing scale and exposes all those who are subject to the “noxious” influence of the West. On April 29, 1933, V. Shklovsky published an article in the same newspaper titled “A Letter to the Editor” in which he retracted his article “The South-West” calling it “harmful and incorrect”. However, even the publication of this article did not prevent the emergence of sharp, critical publications in which Viktor Shklovsky’s scientific and literary activities were discussed. Not only his original works - prose or essays - but also his works dedicated to the issues of film studies were criticized. It is noteworthy that these letters were published one after another in 1933. Viktor Shklovsky, just a few days after his publication, wrote a personal letter to Osip Brick: “Dear Osya! I know that you became angry after reading my letter in Literaturnaya Gazeta ... A few more weeks of this kind of bullying and the vitality will leave me. If I myself were not full of life, I would have been dead a long time ago. Nobody calls me” (Galushkin, 1993:29). It is interesting to note that during this very difficult period for Viktor Shklovsky, he also sent a letter to Tbilisi. The letter dated June 1, 1933 and is addressed to the literary critic G. Bebutov. He writes: “Of course, I am confused and now I don’t even know what is good.” (Bebutov, 1985:15).A fierce struggle against Formalism was going on throughout the Soviet Union. A single ideology reigned in a totalitarian country. After the First Congress of Soviet Writers, the discussion “Against Formalism and Naturalism” became especially acute.