Article

Name: The prose of Vladimir Zazubrin: A chronicle of lifetime publications and literary criticism

Authors: Igor E. Loshchilov, Elena N. Proskurina

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

In the section Materials and Sources

Abstract:

This paper presents the first comprehensive bibliography of the lifetime publications of Vladimir Zazubrin (real name Zubtsov; born 1895), beginning with his earliest works in 1914, alongside a meticulously curated compilation of critical responses to his oeuvre. The assembled bibliographic data effectively demonstrate the remarkable diversity of Zazubrin’s creative interests, showcasing his multifaceted roles as a prose writer, screenwriter, and prominent public figure within the cultural landscape. The material vividly highlights the complex dynamics and intense trajectory of his literary career, which was tragically cut short in 1937. Zazubrin was both the author of the first Soviet novel, Dva mira (Two Worlds), and a dedicated promoter of Siberian literature. His legacy garnered considerable scholarly attention following the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and his official posthumous rehabilitation in 1958. Structurally, the present study is logically divided into two distinct sections. The first part rigorously documents the publication history of his prose fiction, journalistic endeavors, and literary criticism, offering crucial clarifications regarding the exact publication dates of his books. The second part systematically presents the varied responses of his contemporaries to the different facets of his literary output and public activities. Methodologically, both sections synthesize genre-based, thematic, and chronological principles. This integrated organizational approach was deliberately chosen over a traditional alphabetical arrangement, as it provides a far more illustrative and historically contextualized picture of the author’s creative evolution.

Keywords: Vladimir Zazubrin, Siberia, Siberian literature, Soviet prose, bibliography, literary criticism

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