Village Prose
Encyclopedia
Village Prose was a movement in Soviet literature beginning during the Khrushchev Thaw
, which included works that focused on the Soviet rural communities. Some point to the critical essays on collectivization in Novyi mir by Valentin Ovechkin
as the starting point of Village Prose, though most of the subsequent works associated with the genre are fictional novels and short stories. Authors associated with Village Prose include Aleksander Yashin, Vasily Belov
, Fyodor Abramov
, Valentin Rasputin
, Boris Mozhayev, Vasily Shukshin
. Some critics also count Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
among the Village Prose writers for his short novel Matryona's House.
Many Village Prose works espoused an idealized picture of traditional Russian village life and became increasingly associated with Russian nationalism
in the 1970s and 1980s. Some have argued that the nationalist subtext of Village Prose is the reason the Soviet government remained supportive of Village Prose writers like Valentin Rasputin (who became a member of the Writers' Union) during the Time of Stagnation, even while they began to more heavily censor other dissenting movements, like Youth and Urban Prose.
Khrushchev Thaw
The Khrushchev Thaw refers to the period from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, when repression and censorship in the Soviet Union were partially reversed and millions of Soviet political prisoners were released from Gulag labor camps, due to Nikita Khrushchev's policies of de-Stalinization and...
, which included works that focused on the Soviet rural communities. Some point to the critical essays on collectivization in Novyi mir by Valentin Ovechkin
Valentin Ovechkin
-Early life:Valentin was born in Taganrog, the son of an office employee. He studied at the Taganrog Technical School from 1913 to 1919. He began writing early, while he was still a member of the Komsomol. His first story Saveliev was published in the newspaper Bednota in 1927. Other early works...
as the starting point of Village Prose, though most of the subsequent works associated with the genre are fictional novels and short stories. Authors associated with Village Prose include Aleksander Yashin, Vasily Belov
Vasily Belov
Vasily Ivanovich Belov is a Soviet/Russian writer, poet and dramatist, who published more than 60 books which sold 7 million copies...
, Fyodor Abramov
Fyodor Abramov
Fyodor Aleksandrovich Abramov was a Russian novelist and literary critic. His work focused on the difficult lives of the Russian peasant class. He was frequently reprimanded for deviations from Soviet policy on writing....
, Valentin Rasputin
Valentin Rasputin
Valentin Grigoriyevich Rasputin is a Russian writer. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's works depict rootless urban characters and the fight for survival of centuries-old traditional rural ways of life...
, Boris Mozhayev, Vasily Shukshin
Vasily Shukshin
Vasily Makarovich Shukshin was a notable Soviet/Russian actor, writer, screenwriter and movie director from the Altay region who specialized in rural themes. Upon his death, Shukshin was interred at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.-Biography:...
. Some critics also count Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
among the Village Prose writers for his short novel Matryona's House.
Many Village Prose works espoused an idealized picture of traditional Russian village life and became increasingly associated with Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism is a term referring to a Russian form of nationalism. Russian nationalism has a long history dating from the days of Muscovy to Russian Empire, and continued in some form in the Soviet Union. It is closely related to Pan-Slavism...
in the 1970s and 1980s. Some have argued that the nationalist subtext of Village Prose is the reason the Soviet government remained supportive of Village Prose writers like Valentin Rasputin (who became a member of the Writers' Union) during the Time of Stagnation, even while they began to more heavily censor other dissenting movements, like Youth and Urban Prose.
See also
- Fyodor AbramovFyodor AbramovFyodor Aleksandrovich Abramov was a Russian novelist and literary critic. His work focused on the difficult lives of the Russian peasant class. He was frequently reprimanded for deviations from Soviet policy on writing....
- Valentin RasputinValentin RasputinValentin Grigoriyevich Rasputin is a Russian writer. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's works depict rootless urban characters and the fight for survival of centuries-old traditional rural ways of life...
- Vasily BelovVasily BelovVasily Ivanovich Belov is a Soviet/Russian writer, poet and dramatist, who published more than 60 books which sold 7 million copies...
- Aleksander Yashin
- Aleksandr SolzhenitsynAleksandr SolzhenitsynAleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
- Vladimir SoloukhinVladimir SoloukhinVladimir Alexeyevich Soloukhin was a Russian poet and writer. Born in Alepino, a village in what is now Vladimir Oblast, he was raised in a peasant family.Soloukhin was educated in a mechanical technicum, where he studied to be a mechanic....
- Russian literatureRussian literatureRussian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...