On the History of the Academic Series “Literary Heritage” (for the 90th Anniversary)

Abstract

The article examines the history of the publication of the academic series Literary Heritage based on new archival materials. The publication was initiated in 1931, when archival and publishing activities were affected by political trials. The author of the draft used political rhetoric to get permission to publish it from the Central Committee of the CPSU(b). In 1932, following the decree “On the Restructuring of Literary and Artistic Organizations,” Literary Heritage became an exemplary academic publication and received international recognition. Literary Heritage developed a new method as it placed the author in the position of a student at the editorial board. In Soviet times, the Literary Heritage existed under the conditions of censorship and ideological control but still managed to publish a volume on Russian symbolism in 1937. The years 1947–1959 were difficult for Literary Heritage when the editorial office was accused of cosmopolitanism. In its publishing policy, Literary Heritage was ahead of time and above the reader’s dogmatism which led to the sequestration of several volumes. The history of Literary Heritage contributed to creating an intellectual and ideological platform that nurtured a new generation of literary historians.

Keywords

• literary heritage
• i. silberstein
• s. makashin
• v. bonch-bruevich
• academic series
• academic edition
• source studies
• literary history
• politics
• archive
• transcript.