Stalin. Part 14: Soviet Elite Mass Culture
It was not difficult and very revolutionary to demolish church domes and arrange granaries in churches. But what god, or at least a tsar, should be put in the heads destroyed by the revolution and civil war? The introduction of a new economy, the building of a new type of state was unthinkable without a sound idea uniting the human mix. This was obvious to a convinced Marxist with the spiritual education of the olfactory and sound IV Stalin.
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It was not difficult and very revolutionary to demolish church domes and arrange granaries in churches. But what god, or at least a tsar, should be put in the heads destroyed by the revolution and civil war? The introduction of a new economy, the building of a new type of state was unthinkable without a sound idea uniting the human mix. This was obvious to a convinced Marxist with the spiritual education of the olfactory and sound IV Stalin.
1. From the animal instincts of the owner to the triumph of giving back to the flock
The pretty visual prints and cultural limitations of traditional Western mass culture weren't enough. A strong sound idea was needed, capable of forming a "consciousness of a new type" and uniting people into a new social community - the Soviet people. To do this, it was required to remove all the "superfluous": formalism, abstractionism, futurism and other trends that grew out of the freemen of the Silver Age. A cultural and ideological revolution, unprecedented in scale, began, which found its expression in the doctrine of socialist realism. The craziest, according to Maxim Gorky, the task in the shortest possible time to re-educate a person with the animal instincts of the owner, to make him disinterestedly giving for the common good found its solution.
The ranks of the Soviet creative intelligentsia (poets, composers, writers, or, as Stalin called them, "engineers of human souls") were formed from the "former" who were ready to work with the new government, there were no others. The selection of works suitable for educating the masses was painful and difficult. There were no precise evaluation criteria. The recommended doctrine of socialist realism, proclaimed by A. M. Gorky at the First Congress of the Writers' Union, could not provide clear guidelines. The cultural functionaries had to rely on a political instinct that not everyone possessed. An undoubtedly talented work could conceal a harmful, that is, a separating, and not a unifying (guaranteeing survival) idea. The sense of smell was vigilant to ensure that this did not happen.
The progress of the human flock in time takes place in the opposition of sound search and olfactory concealment. The system (person, group or society) preserves itself, striving for a balance created by multidirectional vectors of projections of the forces of receiving and giving in the eight-dimensional matrix of the mental unconscious. Stalin's strong sense of smell needed developed sound specialists, geniuses capable of the highest degree of concentration in sound to overcome the voids of egocentrism and comprehend the idea of unification for the subsequent transmission of this idea to the flock.
2. Stalin and Gorky: stronger than Goethe's "Faust"
Gorky created the literary formulations of Stalin's policy.
A. V. Belinkov
Of particular difficulty was working with writers who could not be united, such as physicists, in closed design bureaus, and thereby create a conditionally unified space of collective thought creation necessary for sound specialists. Each writer worked at his desk, some, Gorky for example, even tried to move with this table from country to country, so as not to disrupt the usual environment for creativity.
Now there is a lot of debate about Stalin's literary tastes, they accuse him of insufficient sophistication in matters of art and culture, or even a complete lack of ability to understand literature and poetry. Moving away from the specific sad destinies of poets and prose writers, it must be said: Stalin's work to preserve the integrity of the state did not have such a task - to savor this or that elegant little thing. He chose the right things to fulfill his specific role. The rest did not matter and were abbreviated as simple fractions. You can be sad.
Of all the works of Gorky, Stalin singled out one early (1892) fairy tale. Critics did not pay much attention to her. The fairy tale "The Girl and Death" was called and told (in a nutshell) about love that conquers death. The fate of Death in Gorky's tale is described very sympathetically:
It's boring to mess around with rotten meat for a century, To exterminate various diseases in it;
It's boring to measure time by the hour of death -
I want to live more uselessly.
All, before the inevitable meeting with her, Feel only the absurd fear, -
Tired of her human horror, Tired of the funeral, crypts.
Busy with a thankless job
On a dirty and ailing land.
She does it skillfully, -
People think Death is unnecessary.
The Fearless Girl managed to "persuade" Death by the power of her love:
Since then, Love and Death, like sisters, Walk inseparably to this day, For Love, Death with a sharp scythe
Drags everywhere, like a pimp.
She walks, bewitched by her sister, And everywhere - at the wedding and at the funeral Tirelessly, unswervingly builds the
Joys of Love and the happiness of Life.
Stalin singled out this tale with a playful aphorism, the authorship of which many have forgotten. "This thing is stronger than Goethe's Faust (love conquers death)," Stalin wrote on the last page of the tale. In the mansion of the millionaire Ryabushinsky, where they settled the "petrel of revolution" extracted from Italy, Stalin and Gorky talked for hours over a glass of red wine. The aroma of pipe Herzegovina mixed with the strong smoke of Gorky's cigarettes. In an atmosphere of seeming unity, the playful inscription on the fairy tale could be understood both as praise and as an advance for the future. In reality, it was “recommended for reading”. To make people understand what kind of Goethe we are talking about, "Faust" was included in the school curriculum.
Why did Gorky's romantic tale turn out to be stronger for the pragmatist Stalin than Goethe's "Faust"? Because it is shorter and more intelligible formulates the same idea of the opposition of life and death, where development wins (survives). Visual love, brought into fearlessness, is necessary for the survival of the flock, as is the sound overcoming of self-centeredness by including the desires of others. Stalin unmistakably chose Gorky to shape his non-verbal political aspirations in precise phonetic words and vivid visuals. For example: "If the enemy does not surrender, they destroy him." It worked to unite for survival, and was therefore encouraged. Personal experiences and other "untimely thoughts" of Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov, expressed in attempts to snatch confused intellectuals from the altar, were perceived exactly as inevitable.
3. Stalin and Bulgakov: just to know
I’m going, I’m in a hurry. Bock, if you please see, makes itself felt.
Allow me to lick the boot.
M. A. Bulgakov. dog's heart
Stalin did not meet with MA Bulgakov. Nevertheless, an invisible dialogue lasted between them until the last days of the life of the writer, and from his deathbed trying to "talk with Comrade Stalin." Having left his native Kiev and left the profession of a doctor for the sake of literary creativity, Bulgakov was crushed by the lack of work in Moscow. It was not published, plays were not staged. Several feuilletons and other literary day-work did not correspond to the scale of Bulgakov's work. In despair, MA writes a letter to Stalin, begs to let him go abroad, since here, in the USSR, he is no good as a writer.
In response, an unexpected telephone call is heard: "Comrade Stalin will speak to you." Bulgakov is sure that this is a stupid joke, and hangs up. However, the call is repeated, and a dull voice with a Georgian accent gently asks if he is bothering the writer Bulgakov too much. Stalin is really on the other end of the line! He strongly advises Bulgakov to apply to the Moscow Art Theater again, now he will probably be hired. As for the foreign countries … "Are we really tired of you, Comrade Bulgakov?"
And then MA changes take place. Where has the resolve to seek an immediate departure for Europe gone? Here is what he replies: “I have been thinking a lot lately - can a Russian writer live outside his homeland. And it seems to me that it cannot. " - "You're right. I think so too,”states Stalin. This was their first and only conversation. Bulgakov's numerous letters to Stalin will remain unanswered. Recalling later his conversation with the secretary general, Bulgakov emphasized that Stalin "conducted the conversation in a strong, clear, stately and elegant manner." MA's taste can be trusted. Strongly, clearly, stately and elegantly Bulgakov will create his most memorable image - Woland.
In the meantime, the writer still hoped to be useful to the system. There were reasons for this. At the Moscow Art Theater Bulgakov was accepted as an assistant director, "Days of the Turbins" (based on the novel "The White Guard"), Stalin's favorite play, went on with great success. I. V. himself watched the play 16 times! Forbidden to remove from the repertoire, despite hostile criticism and the labeling of "White Guard".
Why did Stalin's choice as a politician fall on the "White Guard" and dismissed the equally talented "Run" on the same White Guard-emigre theme? Here is his opinion: “The main impression that the viewer has from this play is an impression favorable for the Bolsheviks: even if people like Turbins are forced to lay down their arms and submit to the will of the people, recognizing their cause as completely lost, then the Bolsheviks are invincible, with them, the Bolsheviks, nothing can be done. " Unlike "Days …", "Run" evoked pity for the emigrants. Such feelings were not needed by the Soviet people on the eve of the war.
Stalin knew how and loved to read, understood and appreciated good literature. The idea of Stalin as an "aesthetically dense practical politician" [1] is nothing more than an order of our political opponents. The selection of works for state needs was as unemotional as everything that is done to preserve the integrity of the pack. On the example of the dialogue between the olfactory Stalin and the sound Bulgakov, it is clearly seen how, under the influence of the projection of the receiving force, aimed at preserving the whole, the most talented samples of sound-visual creativity, but carrying the idea of separation, turn into nothing.
The story "Heart of a Dog", the focus of sound egocentrism and visual snobbery of Professor Preobrazhensky, could not be accepted for publication. For all the genius of this work, which is now widely known thanks to the talented acting of the actors in the film of the same name, the essence of "Heart of a Dog" is expressed in one phrase: "I do not like the proletariat." And by what, strictly speaking, right? Can a Russian intellectual, and without a doubt, Filippovich feels himself to be such, not indiscriminately love a group of people just because these people did not have the happiness of getting a university education and do not know how to "lay a napkin"? It is clear that Bulgakov himself speaks through the lips of Preobrazhensky, who considers living in seven rooms with a cook and a maid to be the norm for himself and painfully perceiving reality that differs from his ideas.
Filmed in 1988 based on Bulgakov's story that had just appeared in the official press, the film Heart of a Dog was instantly taken away for quotes. It is understandable. Having freed itself at once from the chains that fettered people into a single whole, the post-Soviet "proletariat" immediately felt itself … a master - Professor Preobrazhensky. The thermonuclear reaction of the splitting of society to its chosen circle and rednecks-ball continues with open mutual hatred with shootings for a parking space, terror that has become a habit. Sadly, the talented work of Mikhail Bulgakov, multiplied by the talents of film actors, contributed to this process. Behind the angry philippics of Professor Preobrazhensky, few people noticed Jung's thought about devastation in their heads, and if they did, they tried it on not for themselves, loved ones, but for the ugly Shvonders singing in the basement.
Those who accuse Stalin of all sins do not understand how the ancient mind of the olfactory person works, this primitive unmistakable sense of the beast. By concentrating the collective hatred on itself, the sense of smell keeps the flock from tearing itself to unviable pieces. When the concentration of hatred enters a critical phase, the coveted victim is thrown off the flock, tormented by the cultural ban on cannibalism. There were many such sacrifices during the years of Stalin's rule. Multi-page petitions demanding to destroy the many-headed hydra, to burn out the enemies of the Soviet people with a hot iron, the widespread unanimous votes to expel victims from the party, and therefore from life, convincingly testified: the victim was accepted in a pack, unity was preserved. Stalin, by virtue of his psychic nature, unmistakably caught this feedback.
Ultimately, Death wins.
Stalin - de Gaulle
in response to congratulations on the Victory
But let's return to the Stalin-Bulgakov link, because there is probably no more vivid, dramatic and systemic example of how being continues in the corridor of tension between sound and smell.
The last attempt to integrate into Soviet literature was for Bulgakov to write a play about Stalin's young years "Batum". The first reading was accepted at the Moscow Art Theater with enthusiasm. The play was predicted to be a great success. Written by the talented pen of Bulgakov, young Joseph Dzhugashvili appeared as a romantic hero of the level of Lermontov's Demon, only without depressing unnecessary things. He could become the hero of the epic, this Koba, the fearless Robin Hood - the expropriator, the fighter for the happiness of the oppressed. Money for the play has been received. MA Bulgakov, at the head of the Moscow Art Theater brigade, goes on a creative trip to the places of the play's events - to Georgia. The production must be extremely reliable, you need to make sketches for the scenery, collect folk songs. An hour later, with a short journey, in Serpukhov, a telegram “lightning” overtakes the business travelers: “Come back. There will be no play."
“He signed my death warrant,” Bulgakov writes about this event. He is Stalin. This was the beginning of the end. Fatal kidney disease began to progress rapidly. Already bedridden and blind, Bulgakov dictated to his wife the corrections of his “sunset romance” The Master and Margarita: “To know … to only know …”
What knowledge did the terminally ill writer want to convey in the last attempts of sound concentration on issues of world order? A systematic reading of The Master is a topic for a separate in-depth study. Let's dwell on the obvious: the main character of the novel, Satan Woland, does justice. “The Master and Margarita” is a hymn to the olfactory measure of reception that does good. On his deathbed, the son of a theology professor had a glimpse of something that he was in a hurry to share with the world. The "revelation" from the olfactory measure was vetoed by the death of the sound writer. The novel, revealing the metaphysical meaning of light and darkness, was postponed for the length of time necessary to prepare people to comprehend it.
Concluding the "literary digression", I would like to reiterate the following thought. Stalin did not choose the best works of art or what he “liked” or what he “was able to understand”, he took what was necessary to solve the political problem of preserving the USSR, as he felt it due to the olfactory psychic big politician.
4. Stalin and Sholokhov: with sweat and blood
In June 1931, Stalin met with the young M. Sholokhov. They talked about the novel The Quiet Don, where they spoke with utmost frankness about the horrors of decossackization. Stalin asked where the author got the facts about executions and other "excesses" in relation to the Cossack middle peasant. Sholokhov replied that he was based exclusively on documentary archival materials. After a difficult discussion, Stalin came to the conclusion that, despite the blatant truth about those terrible events, "Quiet Don" works for the revolution, because it shows the complete defeat of the whites. Sholokhov's fearlessness, his self-control and righteousness, excruciating pain for the people, but also a deep understanding of what was happening, saved the life of the young writer and made it possible to work in new conditions. Soon the novel "Virgin Soil Upturned" was published. Sholokhov's name was originally different - "With sweat and blood." The author admittedthat the new name makes him "agitated". A small fee to be read in an environment where the printed word was the only tribune.
Another episode in the tragic dialogue between Stalin and Sholokhov is also interesting. In April 1933, Sholokhov sent two letters to Stalin with an extremely frank description of the atrocities of the commissioners during the confiscation of bread and a request for help: "I saw something that cannot be forgotten to death …" The peasants, together with their children, were thrown into the cold, buried in cold pits, burned and shot whole villages. If not a threat, then the words of Sholokhov sound like a warning: "I decided that it would be better to write to you than to create the last book of Virgin Soil Upturned on such material."
Sholokhov received two replies to his letters. A telegram about the direction of the commission to the places with a check and a letter, the contemptuous tone of which shows through in every word. “In order not to be mistaken in politics (your letters are not fiction, but solid politics), you must be able to see the other side. And the other side is that the respected grain growers of your region (and not only your region) carried out "Italian" (sabotage!) And were not averse to leaving the workers, the Red Army, without bread. The fact that the sabotage was quiet and outwardly harmless (no blood) does not change the fact that the respected farmers, in fact, waged a quiet war with the Soviet regime. War to starvation, dear comrade. Sholokhov … respected grain growers are not such harmless people as it might seem from afar”[2] (italics mine. - IK). Behind the outward benevolence is the steel inflexibility of olfactory contempt. Sholokhov disappointed Stalin with his "hysterics", which was clearly indicated to him.
In a situation when the muscular peasants, who felt the time as a “time” (to hit, it’s time to sow), could not get into the rhythm of the frenzied industrial race and put up fierce resistance, Stalin harshly cut off those who liked to laugh at the “dim” Russian peasant. D. Poorny's poetic feuilleton "Get off the stove", approved by A. V. Lunacharsky, was certified by Stalin as "slander against our people." So he once and for all "set the bar" for the development of vision in Soviet culture - a respectful, loving, hysterical-free attitude towards muscle peasants, not a shadow of snobbery, not a hint of arrogance. The cruel, not to say cannibalistic, practice of dispossession had nothing to do with these principles. But culture should be brought to the masses only in the highest values, because only they kept the primitive hostility within the boundaries of the permissible and saved the country from decay.
Continue reading.
Other parts:
Stalin. Part 1: Olfactory Providence over Holy Russia
Stalin. Part 2: Furious Koba
Stalin. Part 3: Unity of opposites
Stalin. Part 4: From Permafrost to April Theses
Stalin. Part 5: How Koba became Stalin
Stalin. Part 6: Deputy. on emergency matters
Stalin. Part 7: Ranking or the Best Disaster Cure
Stalin. Part 8: Time to Collect Stones
Stalin. Part 9: USSR and Lenin's testament
Stalin. Part 10: Die for the Future or Live Now
Stalin. Part 11: Leaderless
Stalin. Part 12: We and They
Stalin. Part 13: From plow and torch to tractors and collective farms
Stalin. Part 14: Soviet Elite Mass Culture
Stalin. Part 15: The last decade before the war. Death of Hope
Stalin. Part 16: The last decade before the war. Underground temple
Stalin. Part 17: Beloved Leader of the Soviet People
Stalin. Part 18: On the eve of the invasion
Stalin. Part 19: War
Stalin. Part 20: By Martial Law
Stalin. Part 21: Stalingrad. Kill the German!
Stalin. Part 22: Political Race. Tehran-Yalta
Stalin. Part 23: Berlin is taken. What's next?
Stalin. Part 24: Under the Seal of Silence
Stalin. Part 25: After the War
Stalin. Part 26: The Last Five Year Plan
Stalin. Part 27: Be part of the whole
[1] L. Batkin
Quoted from: Stalin's personality cult, electronic resource.
[2] Questions of history ", 1994, No. 3, pp. 9-24.
Quoted from: "Great rulers of the past" M. Kovalchuk, electronic resource
