Overview

Aleksandr Tvardovskii was not only one of the finest, most popular and most important poets of his epoch, but also the editor of Novyi mir, the most prominent Soviet literary journal of the postwar period until the 1970s. This book is a detailed biography of the writer and journal editor who probably changed the literary culture of the Soviet Union more than any other person in the two decades after Stalin's death. Geoffrey Hosking shows how Tvardovskii gradually evolved from being an ardent Stalinist who renounced his own so-called “kulak” family to becoming a convinced advocate of tolerance, an all-human morality, civil rights, and free literary creativity. By giving a balanced account of his strengths and weaknesses, his achievements and failures, the author succeeds in giving the fullest picture available anywhere of a controversial man who turns out to be more complex than he has been portrayed so far. To understand him better is to understand why the Soviet intelligentsia changed so fundamentally in the USSR’s final decades, a change that helps to explain the rise of Gorbachev twenty years later. The study—which includes an in-depth analysis of Tvardovskii’s major works—also helps to better understand the fate of culture under an authoritarian regime and the intricacies of the struggle against censorship.

Full Product Details

Author:   Geoffrey Hosking
Publisher:   Central European University Press
Imprint:   Central European University Press
ISBN:  

9789633867471

ISBN 10:   9633867479
Pages:   506
Publication Date:   14 April 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Figures Preface Introduction Childhood and Youth Aleksandr’s political beliefs Aleksandr leaves home Precarious Existence in Smolensk Early struggles The family crisis Creativity and Danger Strana Muraviia The Literary Terror A Correspondent at War The German war In Moscow At the front again Vasilii Tiorkin After the War The postwar Soviet Union Tvardovskii’s integration into postwar society Literary life after the war Party control Tvardovskii’s post-war experience Novyi mir, 1950–54 Settling into his mission Agricultural policy Stalin’s death Achievement and Humiliation: Grossman’s Stalingrad The novel’s tortuous publication The stormy aftermath Tvardovskii’s First Resignation Interregnum: Tvardovskii’s Personal and Public Crisis Political changes Simonov’s Novyi mir Tvardovskii on course to return to Novyi mir The Tragedy of Aleksandr Fadeev 233 Tvardovskii’s Return to Novyi mir Why was Tvardovskii able to return? The new atmosphere at Novyi mir Tvardovskii’s program: Overcoming trauma and collecting memories Tvardovskii’s own convictions

Reviews

Author Information

Geoffrey Hosking OBE, FR HistSoc, was Professor of Russian History, School of Slavonic & East European Studies, University College London from 1984–2007. He had previously taught at the Universities of Essex, Wisconsin (Madison), Cambridge and Cologne. He was BBC Reith Lecturer in 1988.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions