USSR Union of Writers
Encyclopedia
The USSR Union of Writers, or Union of Soviet Writers was a creative union
of professional writers in the USSR. It was founded in 1932 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
after disbanding a number of other writers' organizations: RAPP, Proletkult
, and VOAPP.
The aim of the Union was to achieve Party and State control in the field of literature. For professional writers, membership of the Union became effectively obligatory, and non-members had much more limited opportunities for publication. The result was that exclusion from the Union meant a virtual ban on publication. In spite of this, the history of the Union of Writers also saw cases of voluntary self-exclusion from its cadre. Thus Vasily Aksenov, Simeon Lipkin and Inna Lisnyanskaya left the Union of Writers in a show of solidarity following the exclusion of Victor Yerofeev and Evgenie Popova in punishment for self-publishing.
After the fall of USSR, the Union of Soviet Writers was divided into separate organizations for each of the Post-Soviet states. The Russian section was transformed into the Union of Russian Writers
The post of chair of the Union of Writers has been held by:
Garrard, John Gordon, and Carol Garrard. 1990. Inside the Soviet Writers' Union. London and New York: Tauris. ISBN 1850432600.
Creative unions in the USSR
Creative unions in the Soviet Union were voluntary societies that united people according to their creative professions, similar to Soviet trade unions....
of professional writers in the USSR. It was founded in 1932 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
after disbanding a number of other writers' organizations: RAPP, Proletkult
Proletkult
Proletkult was movement which arose in the Russian revolution and was active from 1917 to 1925 which aspired to provide the foundations for what was intended to be a truly proletarian art devoid of bourgeois influence.The name is a portmanteau of "proletarskaya kultura" , which are better-known as...
, and VOAPP.
The aim of the Union was to achieve Party and State control in the field of literature. For professional writers, membership of the Union became effectively obligatory, and non-members had much more limited opportunities for publication. The result was that exclusion from the Union meant a virtual ban on publication. In spite of this, the history of the Union of Writers also saw cases of voluntary self-exclusion from its cadre. Thus Vasily Aksenov, Simeon Lipkin and Inna Lisnyanskaya left the Union of Writers in a show of solidarity following the exclusion of Victor Yerofeev and Evgenie Popova in punishment for self-publishing.
After the fall of USSR, the Union of Soviet Writers was divided into separate organizations for each of the Post-Soviet states. The Russian section was transformed into the Union of Russian Writers
The post of chair of the Union of Writers has been held by:
- Maxim GorkyMaxim GorkyAlexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
(1934-1936) - Vladimir Stavsky (1936-1938)
- Alexander Fadeyev (1938-1944 and 1946-1954)
- Nikolay TikhonovNikolay Semenovich TikhonovNikolai Semenovich Tikhonov - a Soviet writer, a member of the Serapion Brothers literary group.-Biography:...
(1944-1946) - Nikolai Surkov (1954-1959)
- Konstantin FedinKonstantin Fedin-Biography:Born in Saratov of humble origins, Fedin studied in Moscow and Germany and was interned there during World War I. After his release he worked as an interpreter in the first Soviet embassy in Berlin...
(1959-1977) - George Markov (1977-1986)
- Vladimir KarpovVladimir KarpovVladimir Vasilyevich Karpov was a Soviet writer of historical novels and public figure. He was awarded the hero of the Soviet Union for bravery in World War II....
(1986-1991)
Sources
TitleGarrard, John Gordon, and Carol Garrard. 1990. Inside the Soviet Writers' Union. London and New York: Tauris. ISBN 1850432600.