Za podlinnuju demokratiju (di A. Fadeev) [10-03-1937] - [D025]

Concise description of the directive:

The basis of our being and the living conditions of all our people were determined by the greatest political event of recent times, namely the approval of the Stalinist Constitution at the 8th Extraordinary Congress of Soviets. Another historical event that was less important, but nevertheless involved and mobilised us all, was the unmasking of several groups of enemies of the people, counterrevolutionaries, Trotskyites and other agents of international fascism.
In our literary criticism, we must renounce the principle of false equality(uravnilovka). We cannot put works of little artistic value next to those of much higher value. We must apply an aesthetic criterion alongside the social criterion in our evaluation of literary works. This is essential because the education of the entire Soviet people in terms of artistic taste depends on us writers. Therefore, we should not be afraid to define the best works from an artistic point of view as such. We are used to dividing literary works into those of the kolkhozes, those of industry, those of transport and so on. We must also learn to divide literary works into works done well and works done badly. Our most important task is to understand how the new forms of socialist relations between people, the new types and characters came about, and how skilled the writer was in his description. Aesthetic evaluation is particularly important here. We have to educate readers on the models of classical and contemporary literature and teach them respect for these models. We must also apply socialist competition in the field of literature.