O tematike sovetskoj literatury [23-10-1932] - [D109]

Concise description of the directive:

The most important achievements that Soviet literature arrived at on the 15th anniversary of the proletarian revolution include the expansion and deepening of themes in the work of Soviet writers. The literature of the USSR was increasingly successful in portraying reality in all its mediations and interrelationships. Following the decisive victories of socialism, achieved under the leadership of the Party in our country, and the resulting changes in the consciousness of the intelligentsia, Soviet writers organically approached a new theme, the revolutionary understanding of events occurring in the USSR and beyond its borders. The decisive turn of most writers towards revolution, their organic affinity with its ideas and socialist construction led to a new and deeper resolution of the ‘old’ themes in their artistic work and the expansion of the range of new themes. Following the revision of their ideological positions and the development of a new attitude towards reality, Soviet writers approached new themes. The decree of 23 April gave the decisive impetus for the realisation of these goals.
Importance of historical themes: the current stage in the development of Soviet literature is also characterised by the fact that some writers have set themselves the task of developing the themes of the historical past, both near and far, in a new way, i.e. to develop them in the way necessary for the current historical moment, for the proletarian cause. They look at ‘yesterday’ from the perspective of the revolution that creates human “tomorrow”. Klim Samgin by A. M. Gorky is a brilliant example of such works. A. Fadeyev and A. Vesely work on themes from the past. O. Kirsanov wrote a historical poem on Marx. L. Slavin wrote about the civil war in his play Inostrannaya kollegiya, etc.
But beware: to what extent will these plays be able to artistically and creatively express the proletariat’s views on historical phenomena? Important: no to formalism.
International theme: Soviet literature has always been international. But today’s international situation, the crisis of capitalism, the threat of war against the USSR, and the growing revolutionary insurgency in the bourgeois countries cause Soviet writers to take an even stronger interest in international issues. Most of these works are indicative of the fact that they are no longer summary sketches of travellers, but artistic documents describing the situation in the capitalist countries of the West, the class struggle. And here the Soviet writer acts as an active fighter for the world proletarian revolution.