Folklore for Stalin: Russian Folklore and Pseudo-folklore of the Stalin Era

by Frank J. Miller

Overview

After the First Congress of Soviet Writers in 1934, folklore, like literature, became an instrument of the political propagandist. Folklorists devoted considerable efforts to attending to what purported to be a rebirth of the Russian epic tradition, producing works of pseudofolklore that as often as not featured Joseph Stalin in the hero's role. Miller's account of this curious episode in the history of popular culture and totalitarian politics, and his synopses and translations of "classic" examples of folklore for Stalin, seek to serve as a resource not only for the study of contemporary folklore but also for the political scientist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781000161236
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/26/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	214
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Frank J. Miller received his Ph.D. in Russian literature from Indiana University. He is currently Associate Professor of Russian at Columbia University where he is the Coordinator of the Russian Language Program. He is also the author of A Handbook of Russian Verbs, Reading and Speaking about Russian Newspapers, as well as many articles on language and folklore.

Table of Contents

Foreword -- Preface -- 1 The Origins of Folklore for Stalin -- 2 The Noviny -- The Noviny of M. S. Kriukova -- The Noviny of P. I. Riabinin-Andreev -- The Noviny of N. V. Kigachev, E. S. Zhuravleva A. M. Pashkova, and M. K. Riabinin -- Other Noviny -- The Noviny of M. R. Golubkova -- Noviny Based on the Traditional Lament -- 3 Soviet Tales -- The Tales of I. F. Kovalev -- The Tales of G. I. Sorokovikov -- The Tales of Other Storytellers -- 4 The Fate of Pseudofolklore -- APPENDIX I Synopses ofNoviny -- APPENDIX II Synopses of Soviet Tales -- APPENDIX III Translations -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

Editorial Reviews

A study of how traditional forms of Russian and other national folklore--the epic song, the lament for the dead, the lyric song, and the folktale--were used to create artificial works that praised the Soviet people, the government, socialist ideals, and Stalin. Also surveys such works' survival today. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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