Article

Name: To the History of Unfulfilled Plans of V. Zazubrin

Authors: E. N. Proskurina

Institute of Philology of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Vsevolod Ivanov. Literature of Siberia

Abstract: The article deals with two unrealized plans of the Siberian writer of the twentieth century V. Zazubrin. These are the novels “Sliver” and “Golden Ram”. The novel “Sliver” was written on the basis of the story of the same name created in 1923, devoted to the problem of the “red terror” in Siberia. The story was not accepted for publication either in Siberia or in Moscow because of the naturalism of the bloody plot. After that, Zazubrin took up her mess. Gradually, it grew into a novel. The writer read excerpts from it even at a meeting with the workers of the GPU in 1928. However, the manuscript of the work was lost. At present it is impossible to determine how the plot of “Sliver” has changed, what’s new in it by the author, in comparison with the published text of the story. The novel “Golden Ram” was to be the first part of the novel trilogy conceived by the writer. Of the three works, only one was created: the novel «Mountains». It was dedicated to the collectivization of the Altai. His Zazubrin represented the second part of the trilogy. The novel “Golden Ram” he intended to devote to the Mongolian theme. However, the protracted work on the “Mountains” did not allow this plan to be realized, despite the fact that Zazbrin had a lot of material about Mongolia based on a trip there and acquaintance with well-known experts of Mongolia A. V. Burdukov and B. Ya. Vladimirtsov. Thus, if in the sphere of the unrealized idea, the novel «Sliver» can belong to the field of both unfinished and unfinished work, then the novel «Golden Ram» refers to the unwritten works. In both cases the implementation of creative ideas was hindered by the tragic outcome of Zazubrin’s fate, who was arrested in 1937 and soon shot in the basements of Lubyanka. Perhaps the materials for both works are stored in the special protection of the archives of the NKVD and are still waiting to be discovered in the wings.

Keywords: State Archive of the Novosibirsk Region, Siberian literature of the twentieth century, V. Zazubrin, unrealized intention, theme of the “Red Terror” in Siberia, Mongolian theme in Russian literature

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