The death of the poet Boris Pasternak
The death of the poet Boris Pasternak, who had been associated with the intellectual elite of the past, marked the point at which a new spiritual and civic group began to form in the collective consciousness. The young individuals who associated themselves with that community possessed significantly distinct social origins and life encounters compared to Pasternak, and a considerable number of them lacked the ability to comprehend or relate to his spiritual realm.
The death of the russian poet Boris Pasternak
Simultaneously, they were also endeavoring to achieve intellectual and artistic liberation, much like the deceased poet. They considered themselves to be the successors of the esteemed cultural and moral legacy represented by Pasternak, his main character Yuri Zhivago, and their social environment.
Consequently, they were considered Zhivago’s offspring, in a metaphysical manner. These individuals did not pertain to a singular cohort, if one defines a cohort based on age. The eldest among them were born in the 1920s, referring to the Russian individuals who actively engaged in combat against Hitler’s army during World War II.
Pasternak has optimistic expectations for the military veterans. Within his novel, he ascribed to them remarkable and astonishing attributes, such as a willingness to engage in extraordinary and daring endeavors, and referred to them as the ethical vanguard of their day. However, only a small number of individuals managed to survive, as a significant portion of their companions had died in the destructive violence of the conflict.
Boris Pasternak authored Doctor Zhivago, a literary work that explores the disappearing social group of the old intellectual, which he metaphorically referred to as “frozen music.” The funeral in 1960, however, signaled the emergence of a new community of Russian intellectuals (Courtesy of Memorial, Moscow).
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The larger groups of Zhivago’s offspring were of a younger age. They were born in the 1930s or early 1940s and belonged to the cohort that enrolled in the universities of Moscow and Leningrad following the war. At that place, they encountered the former soldiers, and their shared sense of unity and connection formed a cohesive “extended” historical cohort that surpassed age differences. The spiritual descendants of Zhivago were brought up in a society where it was expected for everyone to assimilate the Soviet way of life as effortlessly as the Russian Orthodox embraced their religious beliefs in church.
They strolled beneath the crimson stars of the Kremlin and familiarized themselves with Soviet melodies. A significant number of individuals were raised in the absence of paternal figures due to casualties resulting from armed conflicts or political oppression. Essentially, “Comrade Stalin” served as their surrogate father.
Certain individuals were instructed to develop a greater affection for Stalin than for their own parents. The recipients of the Soviet enlightenment initiative were primarily the graduates of prestigious colleges, particularly those in Moscow and Leningrad. They were intended to become the highly educated cohort that Stalin derogatorily referred to as the Soviet intelligentsia. They were originally intended to be a group of individuals who were completely devoted to Stalin’s agenda and the party’s ideology. This group included scientists, engineers, physicians, educators, and elite young people in the military, security, propaganda, and cultural institutions.
Their ultimate purpose was to become officials in the state and party bureaucracies. This group of youthful thinkers and artists were raised in seclusion from the outside world, residing in a nation with restricted borders and minds held captive. Encountering a person from another country was more improbable than witnessing a complete solar eclipse. International travel was inconceivable.
It was nearly impossible to compare the Soviet experience with life in other countries. However, something extraordinary happened. The protracted period of warfare, brutality, and suffering subjected the spirits of the subsequent generation of Zhivago’s offspring to rigorous trials, endowing them with exceptional encounters. They escaped.
The well-educated individuals trained for duty under Stalin’s regime proved to be a dynamic and varied group, characterized by their intellectual curiosity, creative aspirations, and deep appreciation for refined culture. They connected with both the collective nature of the Soviet society and the individualistic values of humanism.
The unforeseen consequence arose from the educational system implemented under Stalin, which promoted the values of self-cultivation, self-improvement, and a widespread reverence for great culture.
The Russian intelligentsia, which formerly held these principles as an essential part of its beliefs, now served as the foundation for its resurgence among the educated youth in the post-Stalin period. The surviving members of the former intellectual elite in literature and liberal arts, who nevertheless retained recollections of the disrupted past, continued to exist.
Despite their surrender to the dominant Stalinist ideology, they offered guidance on the ethical and aesthetic principles, conduct, and language of the pre-Soviet era.
