UDC

Authors

Abstract

The article deals with some aspects of representation of Siberia in Russian prose during the 1950s – 1960s and their dependence on the ideological priorities that were proclaimed in different historical periods (Late Stalinism, Khrushchev Thaw). The article demonstrates how V. Astafiev and S. Zalygin turned from reproducing socialist realist clichés in their early works about Siberia to the polemics with the official ideology, which declared that the region had no historical or cultural traditions. The author of the article argues that the new vision of Siberia in Village Prose contributed to the emerging conservative trends in Soviet public life. At the fore of the author’s analysis are the attempts of the writers to prove the value of the local experience and culture, criticize the widespread idea of Siberia being a colony and argue with films and books exoticizing this region. Moreover, in the 1960s, some writers (e.g. V. Rasputin) took interest in the indigenous peoples of Siberia and their ethnocultural traditions, which can indicate disappointment in the modernization project as a whole. Zalygin and Astafiev argue that industrial development of a region cannot prove successful without an understanding of its historical, climatic and social peculiarities and without regard to its economic and cultural needs. The writers remind of the concerns of the region, which may conflict with the aims of central institutions, thereby enhancing the development of some ideas of Siberian regionalism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Trying to challenge the official formula of the conquest of Siberia, these authors create an ontological approach to the representation of the region.

Keywords

References

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