“Literatura mirovoj revoljucii”, 3, 1932 - [S039]

During the post-revolutionary era, new constructs with the supporting verb emerged in the nascent Russian-Soviet language, which over time became entrenched in the Russian syntagmatic system. The verb ‘razvernut’‘ within the construct ‘razvernut’ bor’bu‘ (“to unleash the fight”) represents a further instance of the emergence of a new meaning and, consequently, a new verbal-nominal construct, in whose semantics the incoativity and intensity of an activity are merged: “Narjadu s fabrichno-zavodskimi organizacijami vsja nasha pechat’ i v pervuju ochered’ nizovaja s ogromnoj armiej rabkorov-udarnikov dolzhna shiroko razvernut’ bor’bu za kachestvennye pokazateli, neoslabno populjarizuja luchshie udarnye brigady, luchshih brakovshchikov, otdel’nyh rabochih, otlichajushchihsja vyrabotkoj produkcii horoshego kachestva, jekonomnym rashodovaniem syr’ja, aktivno borjushchihsja ili organizujushchih bor’bu s brakom na predprijatijah” [Together with the factory organisations, our entire press, first and foremost the grassroots one, with its huge army of correspondent-workers, must widely unleash the fight for quality indicators, relentlessly disseminating the best assault brigades, the best quality controllers, individual workers distinguished for producing high-quality goods, for economical use of raw materials, for actively fighting or organising the fight against defective products in enterprises], Reshitel’nee borot’sja za kachestvo produkcii, ‘Pravda’, 1930. The expression ‘razvernut’ bor’bu‘, used in both political and social contexts to indicate the intensification of the struggle for the socialist idea and against the external threat to the new world of the Soviets, constitutes an obvious reference to conflict and to the metaphor of war, as it takes up the military meaning of the verb ‘razvernut’‘ (‘razvernut’ front‘ – “to deploy the front”). In the journal ‘Literatura mirovoy revolyutsii’, the expression ‘razvernut’ bor’bu‘ is actively employed within the ideological polemic against French literary tastes. The semantic shift of the verb ‘razvernut’‘ is recorded in Tolkovyj slovar’ russkogo jazyka [Dictionary of the Russian Language] by D.N. Ushakov, where the meaning “organizovat’, uchredit’, predprinjat’ v shirokih razmerah, ispol’zovav vse vozmozhnosti” [to organise, establish, undertake on a large scale, using all possibilities] is marked as new, while the expression “razvyernut’ bor’bu” emphasises the beginning and intensification of the struggle (also figuratively) and possesses a marked positive connotation.