Literary reflections of the future war: A study of interwar Soviet literature of military anticipation.

Abstract

This dissertation is devoted to the study of interwar Soviet literature of military anticipation through a close analysis of two examples, <italic> Na Vostoke</italic> (1936) by Petr Pavlenko and Pervyi udar (1939) by Nikolai Shpanov. It is an effort to shed light on the genre, often and traditionally referred to as military utopian fiction or military science fiction, which was undoubtedly a noticeable phenomenon in Soviet literature during the 1930s with the aforementioned two novels at its front line. However, there has not yet been a sufficient and comprehensive evaluation of the two works in terms of their literary or historical values. Thus, the goal of this study is to analyze and interpret the two works of military anticipation on the eve of war in the context of contemporary Soviet ideology, and reveal the true relationship between literature and history in that unique setting. Moreover, the study also allows us to observe artistic literature with a marked strain and a practical extraliterary agenda. This was due to the pressure of realistic portrayals and ideal presentation of the future through pure anticipation under socialist realism, Soviet military doctrines, Communist ideology, and Stalin's political aspirations. Chapter I provides a brief overview of the literary and historical environments in which the works in question sprang up. Chapters II and III provide close analyses of the texts of the novels. Throughout the study, a variety of literary and historical approaches are methodologically adopted as they prove most effective in incorporating all relevant aspects the two works, including literary, political, economic, military, and social dimensions. Such an approach enables us to see to what extent politics influenced literature and how literature in turn affected further historical developments within the given environments. Thus, the dynamic correlations present in <italic>Na Vostoke</italic> and <italic> Pervyi udar</italic> illuminates the interaction between literature and politics in a society where the former is tightly controlled by a monolithic, doctrinaire ideology.