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Rezhapova I.M. [Literary interests or politics?] World of Science. Series: Sociology, Philology, Cultural Studies, 2021, Vol. 12, No. 3. Available at: https://sfk-mn.ru/PDF/22FLSK321.pdf (in Russian).

Literary interests or politics?

Rezhapova Irina Mikhailovna
Kuzbass Institute of the Federal Penitentiary System of Russia, Novokuznetsk, Russia
E-mail: rezhira4@mail.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9405-504X
RSCI: https://www.elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=946747

Abstract. The article is devoted to a review of American centers of Russian and Slavic studies specializing in literary criticism. The author of the article attempts to analyze their activities, goals and development strategy in different years, starting from the period of the Cold War. It is noted that they were originally created as a response to the confrontation with the Soviet Union in terms of knowing their potential opponent, and their policies changed depending on relations with Russia. The article mentions that the Soviet Union, its economy, culture and literature were studied within the framework of Sovetology, which could be considered as an instrument of ideological struggle against the Soviet system.

Turning to the analysis of English-language literary Russian studies, the author clarifies that the articles and books of the 1950s and 60s were too politicized, focused not so much on the artistic merits of literary works, but on the imposition of stereotypes regarding Russian and especially Soviet literature. When studying the problems of the theory of Soviet literature, Sovetologists expressed a particularly biased attitude towards socialist realism. In their studies, they argued that works written in the spirit of socialist realism are «distortions of the truth», and Soviet writers write their novels commissioned by the Communist Party. It is also said that in their studies, the authors had to adhere to the usual canons of Sovetology.

In the 1970s, in connection with the warming of the international situation, timid protests began to be heard against the frankly tendentious method of interpreting the works of Soviet literature. In the 1970–80s, American Sovetologists began to gradually lose their leading position, but research is still funded by the state, and military or intelligence structures can be the customer.

The author emphasizes that the 1990s were characterized by the emergence of objective and extremely interesting studies of Russian scholars.

In the first decade of the 2000s, interest in Russia fell sharply, which affects a significant reduction in Russian studies programs and a decrease in the number of American students studying Russian language and culture. The author emphasizes that this is due to the fact that at that time our country was no longer perceived as the main geopolitical opponent.

The author concludes that for American centers of Russian studies, literature was often closely intertwined with political goals, and the financing of programs depended on the state of Russian-American relations.

Keywords: American centers of Russian and Slavic studies; English-language Russian studies; domestic and foreign literary criticism; Soviet studies; confrontation with the Soviet Union; the method of socialist realism; a political approach in interpreting works of literature

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