Members of the USSR Russian Association of Proletarian Writers. In 1939, he completed his studies at the Institute of Literature and commenced his career as a war correspondent. The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union had a profound impact on his life. He commenced documenting the genuine calamities endured by the Russian populace, including soldiers in a somber withdrawal and peasant ladies abandoned to the mercy of the adversary.

Members of the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers

Simonov’s poem, “Wait for me, and I’ll be back,” was widely repeated by millions of soldiers stationed at the front and their relatives residing at home. Exercise patience to the fullest extent possible. Endure the moment when profound sorrow engulfs you amidst the downpour of yellow rain. Persist in waiting, even in the face of everyone’s abandonment. Alexander Tvardovsky, the poet, praised the uncomplicated loyalty and resilience of a Russian peasant soldier.

He was a member of the group of gifted individuals from a peasant background who became part of the Soviet intelligentsia in the 1930s. His father underwent dekulakization and as a result, the family was forced into exile. Alexander, compelled by the imminent risk of being apprehended, had no choice except to distance himself from his family. He became a member of the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers.

Tvardovsky acknowledged in his 1951 autobiography that he had a significant challenge due to his lack of a profound cultural foundation, which was a critical issue for his creative cohort. In less than ten years, he managed to overcome his lack of schooling by diligent and intensive self-study sessions that lasted all night. As a result, in 1936, he enrolled as a student at the Institute of Philosophy, Literature, and History (IFLI). After a span of two years, he released a poetic epic recounting the disillusionment of an innocent peasant’s aspiration to discover a nation devoid of communists or collective farms.

In 1941, just before the war with the Nazis began, Tvardovsky was awarded the Stalin Prize for his literary work. Subsequently, experiencing a heightened sense of safety, he successfully located his family in banishment and repatriated them to their native land. However, the social disapproval associated with having a father labeled as a “kulak” was a persistent burden for him throughout his entire life.

Upon the outbreak of the war with Germany, Tvardovsky assumed the role of a military journalist and composed a series of war poems that captivated readers with their absence of pretentious sentimentality and genuine expression. The soldier Vasily Tyorkin, serving as the main protagonist, emerged as a revered figure among the soldiers, earning the status of a hero. Tyorkin, a beloved figure recognized by millions, became part of the esteemed collection of Russian national characters established by Ivan Turgenev, Lev Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, and Ivan Bunin.

In addition, Stalin held a favorable opinion of Tyorkin and granted Tvardovsky further honors. Amidst the conflict, there was a surge of optimism for an improved existence following triumph and the termination of the oppressive rule. The regime’s wartime actions, including as the elimination of the Communist International and the reopening of churches, left intellectuals contemplating the future.

Several individuals expressed candid ideas during private discussions, which were documented by the secret police and their widespread informants. In 1943, a writer expressed the need for allowing private initiative, akin to a new NEP, in order to effectively rehabilitate and revitalize the economy and the flow of commodities in the near future.

A secret police informer overheard a journalist expressing their unwavering support for the democratic authorities. If Soviet rule were to prevail, I would have no choice but to commit suicide, being an aged democrat. Another author expressed the viewpoint that the Revolution has failed to validate the efforts and sacrifices made for it. We require comprehensive reforms and transformative changes. Otherwise, our ability to emerge from this profound state of despair and destruction, caused by the war, will be severely hindered. Some individuals persisted in adhering to the Soviet communist project, while others maintained a negative outlook regarding the potential for future improvements.

They anticipated at most the cessation of terror and the mitigation of the bureaucratic administration of cultural matters. They anticipated that the dictatorship would grant them the freedom to author their books, produce their films, and present their performances. Some individuals embraced the Russian nationalist patriotic themes and advocated for the expulsion of Jews from the “Soviet intelligentsia.”

In contrast, the Jews, alarmed by the increasing anti-Semitism, felt exposed and desired a resurgence of the internationalist Bolshevik principles that were prevalent in previous times. In May 1945, following numerous casualties and immense suffering, the Soviet Union emerged victorious in the war. Instead of implementing reforms, Stalin orchestrated the mobilization of the country to engage in a cold war with the Western powers. Subsequent waves of fear followed.

Surprisingly, Stalin and his secret police refrained from apprehending the individuals belonging to the Soviet intelligentsia who had expressed reformist and liberal viewpoints throughout the conflict. Instead, an initiative to control the “cultural front” began. The term Zhdanovshchina was coined to refer to the period when Stalin’s lieutenant, Andrei Zhdanov, expressed the leader’s viewpoint.

The party’s orders from 1946-1948 caused humiliation and degradation to several prominent artists in Pasternak’s circle, including the writer Mikhail Zoshchenko, the poet Anna Akhmatova, the composers Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitry Shostakovich, and the director Sergei Eisenstein.