O socialističeskom realizme (Okončanie) (di V. Kirpotin) [1933] - [D136]

Concise description of the directive:

In continuing his contribution on socialist realism, Kirpotin states that in bourgeois art, the realist and romantic strands developed disjointedly and often in opposition. Romanticism, in particular, took on a reactionary function in bourgeois literature, expressing the rejection of contemporary reality.
In contrast, socialist realism is based on a principle of unity between the social and the individual, with the social element prevailing. The socialist realist does not seek in historical experience or in the class dimension what is individual or generically ‘universal’: on the contrary, he aims to portray the political and class significance of events and characters, revealing behind what appears as singular or personal, what is typical and collective, the expression of a certain class position. The character of the artistic image in socialist realism stems precisely from the primacy of the collective over the individual.
Bourgeois realism, having reached a certain stage in its development, comes into contradiction with the representation of strong, complex personalities. At an advanced stage in the history of bourgeois literature, the figure of the individual is reduced to a narrative mechanism, a tool to demonstrate an abstract and idealistic conception of the author. If in its heyday bourgeois literature was still capable of depicting powerful and independent characters, in its later development it inevitably tended towards the depersonalisation and loss of character of its protagonists.
In conclusion, according to Kirpotin, socialist realism is instead proposed as a synthesis and overcoming of these limitations: its aim is to generalise and rework the best that has emerged from the creative experience of proletarian and Soviet literature, elevating artistic representation to an ideological, educational and transformative function.

Ilaria Aletto, Maria Zavyalova