Interaction of the «Russian» and the «Soviet» myths in Italian travelogues about the Soviet Union of the 1950s
https://doi.org/10.22394/2412-9410-2023-9-1-266-290
Abstract
The article analyzes travelogues about the USSR of the second half of the 1950s written by Italian authors Carlo Levi, Alberto Moravia, Curzio Malaparte, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Goffredo Parise and Guido Piovene. We draw the conclusion that the reception of the Soviet Union of that period is determined by two mythological paradigms: the «Russian» one, dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, and the «Soviet» one, which was formed in the epoch of Stalin. A complex interaction of the «Russian» and «Soviet» myths generates certain concepts concerning the USSR: first of all, the USSR as a basically rural society and, second, the USSR as a land of childhood (meaning both individual childhood of the authors and collective «childhood» of Europe and of the whole world). These motifs play a key role in Italian perception of Soviet society of the second half of the 1950s. By the 1960s the influence of both paradigms on Italian travel prose is sharply reduced, but getting rid of mythological schemes in travelogues of the 1960s and 1970s comes at a price: the authors start avoiding broad conclusions and prefer to focus on local issues and descriptions of their private contacts with Soviet people.
Keywords
USSR,
«the Thaw»,
travelogue,
Russian myth,
Soviet myth,
Carlo Levi,
Alberto Moravia,
Curzio Malaparte,
Pier Paolo Pasolini,
Goffredo Parise,
Guido Piovene
Supporting agencies: The article was prepared at A. M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences and financially supported by the Russian Scientific Fund, grant № 20-78-00042 «Soviet Union and the ‘Russian Myth’ in the Travelogues by Italian Writers».
About the Author
A. V. Golubtsova
A. M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Anastasia V. Golubtsova – Cand. Sci. (Philology) Senior Researcher
121069, Moscow, Povarskaya Str., 25а
Tel.: +7(495) 690-50-30
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Review
For citations:
Golubtsova A.V. Interaction of the «Russian» and the «Soviet» myths in Italian travelogues about the Soviet Union of the 1950s. Shagi / Steps. 2023;9(1):266-290. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22394/2412-9410-2023-9-1-266-290
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