1st Edition
Soviet Fiction since Stalin Science, Politics and Literature
First published in 1986, Soviet Fiction since Stalin presents a comprehensive overview of the literature of the post Stalin period in the Soviet Union. The rapid advances in science and technology in these years are reflected in the themes of many of the major novelists – Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, Sinyavsky, Daniel and Grossman- and scientific subjects frequently offer a vehicle for the exploration of the wider socio-political, moral, and philosophical ideas. As the period advances, however, literature becomes the first medium in which to express mistrust of scientific advance, and hence, indirectly, of Soviet policy as a whole. Rosalind J. Marsh uses a broad definition of ‘science’ which enables her to cover topics ranging from de-Stalinization, nationalism, and anti- Semitism in science, to Lysenko and scientific charlatanism, the Soviet rejection of relativity theory and quantum mechanics, the atom bomb, and also such general problems as secrecy, careerism, and bureaucracy. The bulk of the book concentrates on the Khrushchev years but there is also plentiful discussion of more recent writing such as that of Zinoviev and Voinovich. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of Soviet literature, Russian Literature and literature in general.
New Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction Part I: Political and Social Aspects of Soviet Science: The Literary Evidence 1. The Effect of Stalinism on Science and Technology 2. Science and Technology in The Post-Stalin Era 1953-64 3. Science and Technology in The Post-Khrushchev Era Part II: The Literature in the Wider Context 4. The Cult of Science 5. The Ambivalent View of Science 6. Science and Religion Part III: Science, Literature and Public Policy 7. Science, Literature and Public Policy Conclusion Select Bibliography Index
Biography
Rosalind J. Marsh was an undergraduate at Newnham College, Cambridge and conducted her doctoral research at Lady Margaret Hall and St Antony’s College, Oxford. She is Professor Emeritus of Russian Studies at the University of Bath, UK, where she was also former Director of the Centre for Women’s Studies. She is also a member of Wolfson College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She is a former President of the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES), and the founder of the BASEES/Routledge book series on Russian and East European Studies. Much of her research focuses on post-Stalin literature, history and politics
