Children of the Arbat
Encyclopedia
Children of the Arbat is a novel
by Anatoli Rybakov that recounts the era in the Soviet Union
of the build-up to the 'Congress of the Victors', the early years of the second Five Year Plan and the (supposed) circumstances of the murder of Sergey Kirov
prior to the beginning of the Great Purge
.
Principally told through the story of the fictional Sasha Pankratov, a sincere and loyal Komsomol
member who is exiled as a result of party intrigues, the novel is semi-autobiographical - Rybakov too was exiled in the early 1930s. The book recounts the growing hysteria of the period where simple mistakes or humour were seen as examples of sabotage or acts of wreckers (cf 'The Joke' by Milan Kundera
). In effect the book exposes how, despite the honest intentions of Pankratov and older Bolshevik
s like Kirov, Stalinism
is destroying all their hopes.
The novel is also notable for its portrayal of Joseph Stalin
as a scheming and paranoid figure.
The book, which was written between 1966 and 1983, was suppressed until the period known as Perestroika (published for the first time as a feuilleton
in 1987). It was the great publishing sensation of the Perestroika
era, as it was so direct in its criticism of the Soviet system, seemingly honest in its portrayal of Stalin and harsh in its cynical view of those who turned the Soviet Union into a 'Great Power'.
The book was first published in English in 1988 by Dell Publishing, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Anatoli Rybakov that recounts the era in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
of the build-up to the 'Congress of the Victors', the early years of the second Five Year Plan and the (supposed) circumstances of the murder of Sergey Kirov
Sergey Kirov
Sergei Mironovich Kirov , born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the Party organization in Leningrad...
prior to the beginning of the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
.
Principally told through the story of the fictional Sasha Pankratov, a sincere and loyal Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
member who is exiled as a result of party intrigues, the novel is semi-autobiographical - Rybakov too was exiled in the early 1930s. The book recounts the growing hysteria of the period where simple mistakes or humour were seen as examples of sabotage or acts of wreckers (cf 'The Joke' by Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
). In effect the book exposes how, despite the honest intentions of Pankratov and older Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s like Kirov, Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
is destroying all their hopes.
The novel is also notable for its portrayal of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
as a scheming and paranoid figure.
The book, which was written between 1966 and 1983, was suppressed until the period known as Perestroika (published for the first time as a feuilleton
Feuilleton
Feuilleton was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle of the latest fashions, and epigrams, charades and other literary trifles...
in 1987). It was the great publishing sensation of the Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
era, as it was so direct in its criticism of the Soviet system, seemingly honest in its portrayal of Stalin and harsh in its cynical view of those who turned the Soviet Union into a 'Great Power'.
The book was first published in English in 1988 by Dell Publishing, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell.
See also
- Children of the Arbat (serial)Children of the Arbat (serial)Children of the Arbat is a 16-part television serial based on the Children of the Arbat trilogy by Anatoly Rybakov. It aired on the Channel One network in Russia in 2004.The series closely follows the plot of Rybakov's trilogy...
- a 16-part television serial based on Rybakov's trilogy