The Great Mission of Literature and Art
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good to fair. Jacket: worn/faded, chipping but still structural (refer to image). Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.
This seminal political pamphlet captures the rigorous cultural directives of the Khrushchev era, serving as a critical primary document for understanding the ideological boundaries of the mid-20th-century Soviet Union. Through his addresses to the artistic community, Nikita Khrushchev articulates the official Party mandate that literature and the arts must function as an inalienable component of the socialist construction. The text outlines the struggle against "formalism" and abstraction, demanding instead a transparent, optimistic, and didactic aesthetic that centers the collective experience of the Soviet people above all else.Beyond its immediate historical context, this work offers a fascinating glimpse into the tensions of the "Thaw" period—a time of paradoxical liberalization and reaffirmed state control. Scholars and collectors of Cold War history will find this volume an essential study of how a monolithic state sought to harness the creative spirit to reinforce its political trajectory. It remains a poignant, if controversial, testament to the era’s "lofty calling" for artists, illustrating the profound pressure on intellectuals to synthesize personal vision with the unwavering requirements of the State.
Author: N.S. Khrushchev
Format: Hardback
Genre: History
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good to fair. Jacket: worn/faded, chipping but still structural (refer to image). Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.
This seminal political pamphlet captures the rigorous cultural directives of the Khrushchev era, serving as a critical primary document for understanding the ideological boundaries of the mid-20th-century Soviet Union. Through his addresses to the artistic community, Nikita Khrushchev articulates the official Party mandate that literature and the arts must function as an inalienable component of the socialist construction. The text outlines the struggle against "formalism" and abstraction, demanding instead a transparent, optimistic, and didactic aesthetic that centers the collective experience of the Soviet people above all else.Beyond its immediate historical context, this work offers a fascinating glimpse into the tensions of the "Thaw" period—a time of paradoxical liberalization and reaffirmed state control. Scholars and collectors of Cold War history will find this volume an essential study of how a monolithic state sought to harness the creative spirit to reinforce its political trajectory. It remains a poignant, if controversial, testament to the era’s "lofty calling" for artists, illustrating the profound pressure on intellectuals to synthesize personal vision with the unwavering requirements of the State.