Reflections on Foot of the Kremlin on the Russian Revolution: César Vallejo and the USSR

Abstract

The article dwells on the history of César Vallejo's literary contacts with the USSR, his books on Soviet Russia — “Russia in 1931, Reflections on Foot of the Kremlin” (1931) and “Russia before the Second Five-Year Plan” (1931–1932, published in 1965). César Vallejo visited the Soviet Union three times: in 1928, 1929 and 1931, and these trips had a significant impact on his worldview. The memoirs of Georgette de Vallejo, the poet's widow, help to trace the chronology of C. Vallejo’s life and work. C. Vallejo's letters to F.V. Kellin, deposited in the funds of the Russian State Archive of Literature and Arts (RGALI), help to reconstruct the creative plans of Сésar Vallejo in 1933–1935: his intention to return to the USSR and stay for a longer period, to stage his plays “Lockout” and “Presidents of America” there, to participate in the Theater festival in Moscow, etc. The article is supplied with publication of the fragments from the book “Russia before the Second Five-Year Plan” and the foreword by Georgette de Vallejo to its first edition.

Keywords

• césar vallejo
• soviet-western literary contacts
• ussr
• latin america
• peru