Title of the article:

PROLETARIAN CULTURE THROUGH THE EYES OF THE SOVIET LEADERS

Author(s):

Mikhail V. Yudin

Information about the author/authors

Mikhail V. Yudin — PhD in History, Associate Professor, A. N. Kosygin Russian State University, The Institute of Slavic Culture, Khibinsky passage, 6, 129337 Moscow, Russia. E-mail: yudinm@yandex.ru

Section

Theory and history of culture

Year

2018

Volume

Vol. 50

Pages

pp. 56–65

Received

October 29, 2018

Date of publication

December 28, 2018

Index UDK

008

Index BBK

71.41(2)

Abstract

Association of cultural and educational workers ' organizations, that went down in history under the name Proletkult, arose in October 1917. The activity of the Proletcult based on the theory of creation of a special, new (proletarian) culture by proletariat. There was a controversy over the theory, with main participants being the leaders of the Soviet government and the Bolshevik party. V. I. Lenin, L. D. Trotsky, Y. M. Sverdlov, N. K. Krupskaya, A. Y. Yakovlev which basically believed that it was not about a special culture, but the great cultural and educational activities to improve the cultural level of workers. After some deliberation, this viewpoint was also adopted by M. V. Frunze. Without denying the possibility of proletarians`s broad creativity, A. V. Lunacharsky shared this point of view, just as N. I. Bukharin viewed building the proletarian culture and forming ideal person as quite possible. In general, the theory of proletarian culture came to be a response to the search for paths of Russia`s further development in the early 20th century. Soviet leaders, under the influence of V. I. Lenin, refused its right to “singularity” and reduced the idea to daily cultural and educational work and practical creativity.

Keywords

proletarian culture, Bolsheviks, cultural construction.

References

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