Abstract
The theory of beskonfliktnost’ (conflictlessness) is one of the most notorious examples of the stagnation of the cultural sphere under Stalin, yet its origins and exponents are little known. Condemned widely at the second Soviet Writers’ Congress in 1954, the term became used as a catch-all for the excesses of Socialist Realism which eschewed the need for a deeper analysis of the atrophy of post-war Soviet theatre. This article explores the development of the so-called ‘theory’ in cultural discourse and analyses some of the play texts that resulted from it. In the process it situates the concept of beskonfliktnost’ within the context of 1930s utopian idealism and the Stakhanovite drive to over-reach. Finally the article discusses how it came about that dramatist Nikolai Virta was made a scapegoat for the theory, despite never having written a ‘conflictless’ play.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 427-445 |
| Journal | Russian Review |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 2 Jun 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2018 |
Keywords
- Theatre
- Drama
- Russia
- USSR
- Conflict
- Socialist Realism
- Utopia
- Second World War
- Stalin
- Nikolai Virta
- Socialism
- Marxism
- Theatre censorship
Access to Document
- Gardiner_2018_RR_Noconflict_AAM
© 2018 The Russian Review. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created accepted version manuscript following peer review and as such may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/russ.12188
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'No conflict on the stage: the theory of beskonfliktnost’ in postwar Soviet drama'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Profiles
-
Jesse Duncan Smith Gardiner
- Russian - Lecturer in Russian
- School of Modern Languages
- Centre for the Public Understanding of Greek and Roman Drama
Person: Academic