Literature late 19th early 20th. Russian literature of the late 19th - early 20th centuries

Composition

Goal: to familiarize students with the general characteristics and originality of Russian literature of the 19th century V. from the point of view of history and literature; give an idea of ​​the main trends in the literature late XIX- beginning of the 20th century; show the significance of Russian literature of this period in the development of Russian and world literary process; to cultivate a sense of belonging and empathy for the history of Russia, love for its culture. equipment: textbook, portraits of writers and poets of the turn of the century.

Projected

Results: students know the general characteristics and originality of Russian literature of the 19th century. from the point of view of history and literature; have an idea of ​​the main trends in literature of the late 19th - early 20th centuries; determine the significance of Russian literature of this period in the development of the Russian and world literary process. lesson type: lesson on learning new material.

DURING THE CLASSES

I. Organizational stage

II. Updating basic knowledge Checking homework (frontal)

III. Setting the goals and objectives of the lesson.

Motivation for learning activities

Teacher. The twentieth century began at zero o'clock on January 1, 1901 - this is its calendar beginning, from which it counts its history and world art XX century From this, however, it does not follow that at one moment a general revolution took place in art, establishing a certain a new style XX century Some of the processes that are essential for the history of art originate in the last century.

Last thing decade XIX V. opens in Russian and world culture new stage. Over the course of about a quarter of a century - from the early 1890s to October 1917 - literally every aspect of Russian life changed radically: economics, politics, science, technology, culture, art. Compared to the social and, to some extent, literary stagnation of the 1880s. The new stage of historical and cultural development was distinguished by rapid dynamics and acute drama. In terms of the pace and depth of change, as well as the catastrophic nature internal conflicts Russia at this time was ahead of any other country. Therefore, the transition from the era of classical Russian literature to the new literary time was accompanied by far from peaceful processes in general cultural and intraliterary life, which were unexpectedly fast by the standards of the 19th century. - change of aesthetic guidelines, radical renewal literary devices.

The legacy of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. is not limited to the work of one or two dozen significant artists of the word, but logic literary development this pore cannot be reduced to a single center or the simplest scheme changing directions. This legacy is a multi-tiered artistic reality, in which individual literary talents, no matter how outstanding they may be, turn out to be only part of a grandiose whole. When starting to study turn-of-the-century literature, one cannot do without brief overview social background and general cultural context of this period (“context” - environment, external environment, in which art exists).

IV. Working on the topic of lesson 1. teacher's lecture

(Students write theses.)

Literature of the late XIX - early XX centuries. existed and developed under the powerful influence of a crisis that gripped almost all aspects of Russian life. The great realist writers of the 19th century, who were finishing their creative and life path: l. N. Tolstoy and A. P. Chekhov. Continuers of the realistic traditions of I. a. Bunin, A. I. Kuprin, l. N. Andreev, A. N. Tolstoy, in turn, created magnificent examples of realistic art. However, the plots of their works became more and more disturbing and gloomy from year to year, the ideals that inspired them became more and more unclear. Life-affirming pathos, characteristic of Russian classics of the 19th century c., under the weight of sad events, gradually disappeared from their work.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Russian literature, which previously had a high degree of ideological unity, became aesthetically multi-layered.

Realism at the turn of the century continued to be a large-scale and influential literary movement.

The most brilliant talents among the new realists belonged to the writers who united in the 1890s. to the Moscow circle “Sreda”, and in the early 1900s. who formed the circle of regular authors of the publishing house “Znanie” (one of its owners and actual leader was M. Gorky). In addition to the leader of the association in it, different years included l. N. Andreev, I. a. Bunin, V.V. Veresaev, N. Garin-Mikhailovsky, a. I. Kuprin, I. S. Shmelev and other writers. With the exception of I. a. Bunin was not among the realists major poets, they showed themselves primarily in prose and, less noticeably, in drama.

Generation of realist writers of the early 20th century. received as an inheritance from A. P. Chekhov's new principles of writing - with much greater authorial freedom than before, with a much wider arsenal artistic expression, with a sense of proportion obligatory for the artist, which was ensured by increased internal self-criticism.

In literary criticism, it is customary to call, first of all, three literary movements that declared themselves in the period 1890–1917 as modernist. These are symbolism, acmeism and futurism, which formed the basis of modernism as a literary movement.

In general, Russian culture of the late XIX - early XX centuries. amazes with its brightness, wealth, and abundance of talents in various fields. And at the same time, it was the culture of a society doomed to destruction, a premonition of which could be traced in many of her works.

2. familiarization with the textbook article on the topic of the lesson (in pairs)

3. Heuristic conversation

Š What new styles and trends have appeared in Russian culture on turn of the 19th century–XX centuries? How were they related to a specific historical setting?

♦ Which historical events late XIX - early XX centuries. influenced the destinies of Russian writers, were reflected in works of literature?

♦ What philosophical concepts had an impact on Russian literature at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries? what explains the special interest of writers in the philosophy of a. Schopenhauer, F. Nietzsche?

♦ How did the craving for irrationalism, mysticism, and religious quest manifest itself in Russian literature of this time?

♦ is it possible to say that at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Is realism losing the role of the dominant literary process that belonged to it in the 19th century?

♦ How do traditions compare in turn-of-the-century literature? classical literature and innovative aesthetic concepts?

♦ What is unique? late creativity A. P. Chekhov? How justified is judgment a. Bely that a. P. Chekhov “most of all a symbolist”? What features of Chekhov's realism allow modern researchers to call the writer the founder of absurd literature?

♦ What character did the literary struggle take at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries? Which publishing houses, magazines, almanacs played a particularly important role in the development of Russian literature?

♦ How is the problem of the relationship between man and the environment solved in Russian literature at the turn of the century? What traditions " natural school" found development in the prose of this time?

♦ What place did journalism occupy in the literature of this period? What problems were especially actively discussed on the pages of magazines and newspapers during these years?

V. Reflection. Summing up the lesson

1. “Press” (in groups)

The teacher’s general word - thus, the deep aspirations of the modernist movements that conflicted with each other turned out to be very similar, despite the sometimes striking stylistic dissimilarities, differences in tastes and literary tactics. That's why the best poets eras were rarely confined to a particular literary school or movement. Almost a rule of their creative evolution has become the overcoming of directional frameworks and declarations that are narrow for the creator. That's why real picture literary process at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. is determined to a much greater extent by the creative individuals of writers and poets than by the history of trends and movements.

VI. Homework

1. Prepare a message “the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. in the perception... (one of the representatives of Russian art of this time)", using memoir prose by A. Bely, Yu. P. Annenkov, V. F. Khodasevich, Z. N. Gippius, M. I. Tsvetaeva, I. V. Odoevtseva, and other authors.

2. individual task(3 students). Prepare “literary business cards” about the life and work of M. Gorky:

Autobiographical trilogy(“Childhood”, “In People”, “my universities”);

“We sing glory to the madness of the brave!” (“Song of the Falcon”);

“All of Greece and Rome fed only on literature: in our sense, there were no schools at all! And how they grew. Literature, in fact, is the only school of the people, and it can be the only and sufficient school...” V. Rozanov.

D. S. Likhachev “Russian literature... has always been the conscience of the people. Her place in public life country has always been honorable and influential. She educated people and strove for a just reconstruction of life." D. Likhachev.

Ivan Bunin The Word The tombs, mummies and bones are silent, Only the word is given life: From ancient darkness, in the world graveyard, Only Letters sound. And we have no other property! Know how to protect, at least to the best of your ability, in days of anger and suffering, Our immortal gift - speech.

general characteristics eras The first question that arises when addressing the topic “Russian literature of the 20th century” is from when to count the 20th century. According to the calendar, from 1900 - 1901. ? But it is obvious that a purely chronological boundary, although significant in itself, gives almost nothing in the sense of delimiting eras. The first milestone of the new century is the revolution of 1905. But the revolution passed, and there was some calm - until the First World War. Akhmatova recalled this time in “Poem Without a Hero”: And along the legendary embankment the not calendar, the real twentieth century was approaching...

At the turn of the eras, the worldview of a person who understood that the previous era was gone forever became different. The socio-economic and general cultural prospects of Russia began to be assessed in a completely different way. The new era was defined by contemporaries as “borderline.” Previous forms of life, work, and socio-political organization became history. The established, previously seemingly unchangeable, system of spiritual values ​​was radically revised. It is not surprising that the edge of the era was symbolized by the word “Crisis”. This “fashionable” word roamed the pages of journalistic and literary-critical articles along with the similar words “revival”, “turning point”, “crossroads”, etc. Innokenty Annensky

Fiction also did not stand aloof from public passions. Her social engagement was clearly manifested in the characteristic titles of her works - “Off the Road”, “At the Turning” by V. Veresaev, “The Decline of the Old Century” by A. Amfiteatrov, “At the Last Line” by M. Artsybashev. On the other hand, most of the creative elite felt their era as a time of unprecedented achievements, where literature was given significant place in the history of the country. Creativity seemed to fade into the background, giving way to ideological and public position the author, his connections and participation in Mikhail Artsebashev

End XIX century exposed the deepest crisis phenomena in the economy Russian Empire. The reform of 1861 by no means decided the fate of the peasantry, who dreamed of “land and freedom.” This situation led to the emergence in Russia of a new revolutionary teaching - Marxism, which relied on the growth of industrial production and a new progressive class - the proletariat. In politics, this meant a transition to an organized struggle of united masses, the result of which was to be a violent overthrow political system and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The former methods of populist educators and populist terrorists have finally become a thing of the past. Marxism offered a radically different, scientific method, thoroughly developed theoretically. It is no coincidence that Capital and other works of Karl Marx became reference books for many young people, who in their thoughts sought to build an ideal “Kingdom of Justice”.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the idea of ​​a rebel man, a demiurge capable of transforming an era and changing the course of history, is reflected in the philosophy of Marxism. This is most clearly seen in the work of Maxim Gorky and his followers, who persistently highlighted Man with a capital M, the owner of the earth, a fearless revolutionary who challenges not only social injustice, but also the Creator himself. The rebel heroes of the writer's novels, stories and plays ("Foma Gordeev", "Philistines", "Mother") absolutely and irrevocably reject the Christian humanism of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy about suffering and purification by it. Gorky believed that revolutionary activity in the name of reorganizing the world transforms and enriches inner world person. Illustration for M. Gorky's novel "Foma Gordeev" Artists Kukryniksy. 1948 -1949

Another group of cultural figures cultivated the idea of ​​spiritual revolution. The reason for this was the assassination of Alexander II on March 1, 1881 and the defeat of the 1905 revolution. Philosophers and artists called for the internal perfection of man. IN national characteristics Russian people, they were looking for ways to overcome the crisis of positivism, whose philosophy became widespread at the beginning of the 20th century. In their quest, they sought to find new paths of development that could transform not only Europe, but the whole world. At the same time, an incredible, unusually bright rise in Russian religious philosophical thought. In 1909, a group of philosophers and religious publicists, including N. Berdyaev, S. Bulgakov and others, published a philosophical and journalistic collection "Milestones", whose role in the intellectual history of Russia in the 20th century is invaluable. “Vekhi” even today seems to us as if sent from the future,” this is exactly what another great thinker and truth-seeker, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, will say about them. “Vekhi” revealed the danger of thoughtless adherence to any theoretical principles, revealing the moral inadmissibility of belief in universal significance social ideals. In turn, they criticized the natural weakness of the revolutionary path, emphasizing its danger for the Russian people. However, the blindness of society turned out to be much worse. Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev

First World War turned into a disaster for the country, pushing it towards an inevitable revolution. February 1917 and the ensuing anarchy led to the October Revolution. As a result, Russia acquired a completely different face. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the main background of literary development was tragic social contradictions, as well as the dual combination of difficult economic modernization and revolutionary movement. Changes in science occurred at a rapid pace, philosophical ideas about the world and man changed, and arts close to literature developed rapidly. Scientific and philosophical views at certain stages of cultural history radically influence the creators of words, who sought to reflect the paradoxes of time in their works.

The crisis of historical ideas was expressed in the loss of a universal point of reference, of one or another ideological foundation. It is not for nothing that the great German philosopher and philologist F. Nietzsche uttered his key phrase: “God is dead.” It speaks of the disappearance of a strong ideological support, indicating the onset of an era of relativism, when the crisis of faith in the unity of the world order reaches its culmination. This crisis greatly contributed to the search for Russian philosophical thought, which was experiencing an unprecedented flowering at that time. V. Solovyov, L. Shestov, N. Berdyaev, S. Bulgakov, V. Rozanov and many other philosophers had a strong influence on the development of various spheres of Russian culture. Some of them showed themselves in literary creativity. Important in Russian philosophy of that time was the appeal to epistemological and ethical issues. Many thinkers have focused their attention on spiritual world personality, interpreting life in categories close to literature such as life and fate, conscience and love, insight and delusion. Together, they led a person to understand the diversity of real, practical and internal, spiritual experience

The pictures have changed dramatically artistic directions and currents. The former smooth transition from one stage to another, when at a certain stage of literature one direction dominated, has faded into oblivion. Now different aesthetic systems existed simultaneously. Realism and modernism developed in parallel with each other - the largest literary trends. But at the same time, realism was a complex complex of several “realisms”. Modernism, on the other hand, was distinguished by extreme internal instability: various movements and groupings were continuously transformed, emerged and disintegrated, united and differentiated. Literature, as it were, “got rid of money.” That is why, in relation to the art of the early 20th century, the classification of phenomena on the basis of “directions and trends” is obviously conditional, non-absolute.

A specific feature of the culture of the turn of the century is the active interaction of various types of art. It is flourishing at this time performing arts. The opening of the Art Theater in Moscow in 1898 was a great event cultural significance. On October 14, 1898, the first performance of A. K. Tolstoy’s play “Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich” took place on the stage of the Hermitage Theater. In 1902, at the expense of the largest Russian philanthropist S. T. Morozov, the famous Moscow Art Theater building was built (architect F. O. Shekhtel). The origins of the new theater were K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich. Danchenko. In his speech addressed to the troupe at the opening of the theater, Stanislavsky especially emphasized the need to democratize the theater, bringing it closer to life. The true birth of the Art Theater, a truly new theater, took place during the production of Chekhov's "The Seagull" in December 1898, which has since been theater emblem. Modern dramaturgy Chekhov and Gorky formed the basis of its repertoire in the first years of its existence. Principles of performing arts developed Art Theater and were part of the general struggle for new realism, had a great influence on the theatrical life of Russia as a whole.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Russian literature became aesthetically multi-layered. Realism at the turn of the century remained a large-scale and influential literary movement. So, Tolstoy and Chekhov lived and worked in this era. The brightest talents among the new realists belonged to the writers who united in the Moscow circle "Sreda" in the 1890s, and in the early 1900s who formed the circle of regular authors of the publishing house "Znanie", the actual leader was M. Gorky. Over the years, it included L. Andreev, I. Bunin, V. Veresaev, N. Garin-Mikhailovsky, A. Kuprin, I. Shmelev and other writers. Significant influence this group of writers was explained by the fact that it most fully inherited the traditions of Russian literary heritage XIX century. The experience of A. Chekhov turned out to be especially important for the next generation of realists. A.P. Chekhov. Yalta. 1903

Themes and characters realistic literature The thematic range of works by turn-of-the-century realists is undoubtedly wider, in contrast to their predecessors. For most writers at this time, thematic constancy is uncharacteristic. Rapid changes in Russia forced them to approach topics differently, to invade previously reserved layers of topics. The typology of characters has also been noticeably updated in realism. Outwardly, the writers followed tradition: in their works one could find easily recognizable types " little man"or an intellectual who experienced a spiritual drama. Characters got rid of sociological averageness and became more diverse in psychological characteristics and attitude. “The diversity of the soul” of the Russian person is a constant motif in I. Bunin’s prose. He was one of the first in realism to use foreign material in his works ("Brothers", "Chang's Dreams", "The Mister from San Francisco"). The same thing became characteristic of M. Gorky, E. Zamyatin and others. The work of A. I. Kuprin (1870 -1938) is unusually wide in its variety of themes and human characters. The heroes of his stories are soldiers, fishermen, spies, loaders, horse thieves, provincial musicians, actors, circus performers, telegraph operators

Genres and stylistic features of realistic prose The genre system and stylistics of realistic prose were significantly updated at the beginning of the 20th century. The most mobile stories and essays occupied the main place in the genre hierarchy at this time. The novel has practically disappeared from the genre repertoire of realism, giving way to the story. Starting with the work of A. Chekhov, the importance of the formal organization of the text in realistic prose has noticeably increased. Some techniques and elements of form received greater independence in the artistic structure of the work. For example, it was used more variably artistic detail. At the same time, the plot increasingly lost its significance as the main compositional device and began to play a subordinate role. In the period from 1890 to 1917, three literary movements especially clearly manifested themselves - symbolism, acmeism and futurism, which formed the basis of modernism as a literary movement

Modernism in the artistic culture of the turn of the century was a complex phenomenon. Within it, several movements can be distinguished, different in their aesthetics and programmatic settings (symbolism, acmeism, futurism, ego-futurism, cubism, suprematism, etc.). But in general, philosophically aesthetic principles modernist art opposed realism, especially the realistic art of the 20th century. However, the art of modernism in its The literary process of the turn of the century in its artistic and moral value was largely determined by the common, for most major artists, desire for our richest cultural heritage and above all, freedom from aesthetic normativity, overcoming is not an embodiment. contains within itself the silver lining of Russian culture. only literary cliches of the previous era, but also new artistic canons that developed in their immediate literary environment. Literary school(flow) and creative individuality - two key categories literary process of the early 20th century. To understand the work of a particular author, it is essential to know the immediate aesthetic context - the context of a literary movement or group.

The literary process at the turn of the century was largely determined by the common desire, for most major artists, for freedom from aesthetic normativity, to overcome not only the literary cliches of the previous era, but also the new artistic canons that were emerging in their immediate literary environment. Literary school (current) and creative individuality are two key categories of the literary process of the early 20th century. To understand the work of a particular author, it is essential to know the immediate aesthetic context - the context of a literary movement or group.

Russian literature of the late 19th - early 20th centuries (1890 - 1917).

Last decade The 19th century opens a new stage in Russian and world culture. Over the course of about a quarter of a century - from the early 90s to October 1917 - literally all aspects of Russian life were radically updated - economics, politics, science, technology, culture, art. Compared to the social and relative literary stagnation of the 80s, the new stage of historical and cultural development was distinguished by rapid dynamics and acute drama. In terms of the pace and depth of changes, as well as the catastrophic nature of internal conflicts, Russia at this time is ahead of any other country.

Therefore, the transition from the era of classical Russian literature to the new literary time was distinguished by the far from peaceful nature of general cultural and intraliterary life, a rapid - by the standards of the 19th century - change in aesthetic guidelines, and a radical renewal of literary techniques. Russian poetry was renewed especially dynamically at this time, again - after the Pushkin era - coming to the forefront of the country's general cultural life. Later, this poetry earned the name “poetic renaissance” or “silver age.” Having arisen by analogy with the concept of the “golden age”, which traditionally denoted the “Pushkin period” of Russian literature, this phrase was initially used to characterize the peak manifestations of poetic culture of the early 20th century - the work of A. Blok, A. Bely, I. Annensky, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam and other brilliant masters of words. However, gradually the term “Silver Age” began to define the entire artistic culture of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. TO today This usage has become entrenched in literary criticism.

What was new compared to the 19th century at the turn of the two centuries was, first of all, man’s perception of the world. The understanding of the exhaustion of the previous era grew stronger, and conflicting assessments of the socio-economic and general cultural prospects of Russia began to appear. Common denominator ideological disputes that flared up in the country towards the end of the last century were defined new era like eras border: the previous forms of life, work, and political organization of society were irretrievably a thing of the past; the system of spiritual values ​​itself was decisively revised. Crisis - keyword era, wandering through magazine journalism and literary critical articles (the words “revival”, “turning point”, “crossroads”, etc., which are similar in meaning, were often used)

Fiction, which traditionally for Russia has not stood aside from public passions, quickly became involved in the discussion of current issues. Her social engagement was reflected in the titles of works characteristic of this era. “Without a Road”, “At the Turning” - V. Veresaev calls his stories; “The Decline of the Old Century” - echoes the title of the chronicle novel by A. Amphitheaters; “At the last line,” M. Artsybashev responds with his novel. Awareness of the crisis of the time, however, did not mean recognition of its futility.

On the contrary, most wordsmiths perceived their era as a time of unprecedented achievements, when the importance of literature in the life of the country increased sharply. That's why it's so great attention began to be paid not only to creativity itself, but also to the worldview and social position of writers, their connections with the political life of the country. In the writing community, there arose a desire to consolidate with writers, philosophers, and workers of related arts who were close to them in their worldview and aesthetics. Literary associations and clubs played this game historical period a much more prominent role than in the previous few decades. As a rule, new literary movements at the turn of the century developed from the activities of small writers' circles, each of which united young writers with similar views on art.

Quantitatively, the writing environment has grown noticeably compared to the 19th century, and qualitatively - in terms of the nature of education and life experience of writers, and most importantly - in terms of the diversity of aesthetic positions and levels of skill - it has become seriously more complex. In the 19th century, literature had a high degree of ideological unity; it has developed a fairly clear hierarchy of literary talents: at one stage or another, it is not difficult to identify masters who served as reference points for an entire generation of writers (Pushkin, Gogol, Nekrasov, Tolstoy, etc.).

The legacy of the Silver Age is not limited to the work of one or two dozen significant literary artists, and the logic of the literary development of this era cannot be reduced to a single center or the simplest scheme of successive directions. This heritage is a multi-tiered artistic reality in which individual literary talents, no matter how outstanding they may be, turn out to be only part of that grandiose whole, which received such a broad and “lax” name - the Silver Age.

When starting to study the literature of the Silver Age, one cannot do without a brief overview of the social background of the turn of the century and the general cultural context of this period (“context” - the environment, the external environment in which art exists).

Socio-political features of the era.

By the end of the 19th century, the crisis in the Russian economy intensified. The roots of this crisis are in the too slow reform of economic life, which began back in 1861. A more democratic post-reform order, according to the government's plans, was supposed to intensify the economic life of the peasantry, make this largest group of the population mobile and more active. This is how it gradually happened, but the post-reform processes had a downside: from 1881, when the peasants had to finally pay off their debts to their former owners, the rapid impoverishment of the village began. The situation became especially acute during the famine years of 1891-1892. The inconsistency of the transformations became clear: having freed the peasant in relation to the landowner, the reform of 1861 did not liberate him in relation to the community. Up to Stolypin reform 1906, the peasants were never able to separate from the community (from which they received land).

Meanwhile, the self-determination of the largest political parties that emerged at the turn of the century largely depended on one or another attitude towards the community. The leader of the liberal Cadet Party, P. Milyukov, considered the community a kind of Asian mode of production, with the despotism and over-centralization it generated in the political structure of the country. Hence the recognition of the need for Russia to follow the pan-European path of bourgeois reforms. Back in 1894, the prominent economist and political figure P. Struve, who later also became a liberal, concluded one of his works with the famous phrase: “Let’s admit our lack of culture and let’s go to school for capitalism.” It was a program for the evolutionary development of the country towards a European-style civil society. However, liberalism did not become the main program of action for the numerically expanded Russian intelligentsia.

The position that was more influential in the public consciousness went back to the so-called “legacy of the 60s” - the revolutionary democratic ideology and the revolutionary populist ideology that was successor to it. N. Chernyshevsky, and later P. Lavrov and N. Mikhailovsky considered the role of the Russian community to be positive. These supporters of a special, “Russian socialism” believed that the community with its spirit of collectivism was the real basis for the transition to a socialist form of economic management. Important in the position of the “sixties” and their spiritual heirs were a sharp opposition to the autocratic “tyranny and violence”, political radicalism, and a focus on decisive changes in social institutions (little attention was paid to the real mechanisms of economic life, which is why their theories acquired a utopian overtones). For most of the Russian intelligentsia, however, political radicalism has traditionally been more attractive than a thoughtful economic program. It was the maximalist political tendencies that ultimately prevailed in Russia.

By the end of the century" railways"The development of capitalism in the country had already been laid out: in the 90s, industrial production tripled, a powerful galaxy of Russian industrialists was formed, industrial centers were growing rapidly. Mass production of industrial goods was being established, telephones and cars were part of the life of the wealthy. Huge raw materials resources, a constant influx from the village with cheap labor and free access to large markets economically less developed countries Asia - all this foreshadowed good prospects for Russian capitalism.

Relying on the community in this situation was historically short-sighted, as Russian Marxists tried to prove. In their struggle for socialism, they relied on industrial development and the working class. Marxism since the mid-90s. quickly gains moral support different groups intelligentsia. This was reflected in such psychological traits of the Russian “educated layer” as the desire to join the “progressive” worldview, distrust and even intellectual contempt for political caution and economic pragmatism. In a country with extremely heterogeneous social structure As Russia was then, the tilt of the intelligentsia towards the most radical political trends was fraught with serious upheavals, as the development of events showed.

Russian Marxism was initially a heterogeneous phenomenon: in its history, sharp divisions clearly prevailed over convergence and consolidation, and factional struggle almost always overwhelmed the framework of intellectual discussions. The so-called legal Marxists initially played a significant role in giving Marxism an attractive appearance. In the 90s, they polemicized in the open press with the populists (among the talented polemicists was the above-mentioned P. Struve). They professed Marxism as primarily an economic theory, without global claims to planning the destinies of all mankind. Believing in evolutionism, they considered it unacceptable to deliberately provoke a revolutionary explosion. That is why after the revolution of 1905 - 1907. The former legal Marxists finally separated themselves from the orthodox wing of the movement, which, despite the external anti-populist position, absorbed many of the deep-seated attitudes of revolutionary populism.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, all aspects of Russian life were radically transformed: politics, economics, science, technology, culture, art. There are different, sometimes directly opposite, assessments of the socio-economic and cultural prospects for the country's development. What becomes common is the feeling of the onset of a new era, bringing a change in the political situation and a revaluation of previous spiritual and aesthetic ideals. Literature could not help but respond to the fundamental changes in the life of the country. There is a revision of artistic guidelines and a radical renewal of literary techniques. At this time, Russian poetry was developing especially dynamically. A little later, this period will be called the “poetic renaissance” or the Silver Age of Russian literature.

Realism at the beginning of the 20th century

Realism does not disappear, it continues to develop. L.N. is still actively working. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov and V.G. Korolenko, M. Gorky, I.A. have already powerfully declared themselves. Bunin, A.I. Kuprin... Within the framework of the aesthetics of realism, a bright manifestation was found creative individuals writers of the 19th century, their civic position and moral ideals- realism equally reflected the views of authors who share a Christian, primarily Orthodox, worldview - from F.M. Dostoevsky to I.A. Bunin, and those for whom this worldview was alien - from V.G. Belinsky to M. Gorky.

However, at the beginning of the 20th century, many writers were no longer satisfied with the aesthetics of realism - new aesthetic schools began to emerge. Writers unite in various groups, push creative principles, participate in polemics - literary movements are established: symbolism, acmeism, futurism, imagism, etc.

Symbolism at the beginning of the 20th century

Russian symbolism, the largest of the modernist movements, arose not only as a literary phenomenon, but also as a special worldview that combines artistic, philosophical and religious principles. The date of emergence of the new aesthetic system is considered to be 1892, when D.S. Merezhkovsky made a report "On the causes of the decline and on new trends in modern Russian literature." It proclaimed the main principles of future symbolists: “ mystical content, symbols and the expansion of artistic impressionability." The central place in the aesthetics of symbolism was given to the symbol, an image with the potential inexhaustibility of meaning.

The symbolists contrasted the rational knowledge of the world with the construction of the world in creativity, the knowledge of the environment through art, which V. Bryusov defined as “comprehension of the world in other, non-rational ways.” In mythology different nations Symbolists found universal philosophical models with the help of which it was possible to comprehend the deep foundations human soul and solving spiritual problems of our time. WITH special attention representatives of this trend also related to the heritage of Russian classical literature - new interpretations of the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Tyutchev were reflected in the works and articles of the symbolists. Symbolism gave the culture names outstanding writers— D. Merezhkovsky, A. Blok, Andrei Bely, V. Bryusov; the aesthetics of symbolism had a huge influence on many representatives of other literary movements.

Acmeism at the beginning of the 20th century

Acmeism was born in the bosom of symbolism: a group of young poets first founded the literary association “Poets Workshop”, and then proclaimed themselves representatives of a new literary movement - acmeism (from the Greek akme - highest degree something, blossoming, peak). Its main representatives are N. Gumilyov, A. Akhmatova, S. Gorodetsky, O. Mandelstam. Unlike the symbolists, who sought to know the unknowable and comprehend higher essences, the Acmeists again turned to the value of human life, the diversity of the bright earthly world. The main requirement for artistic form works have become picturesque clarity of images, verified and precise composition, stylistic balance, precision of details. The most important place in aesthetic system Acmeists assigned values ​​to memory - a category associated with the preservation of the best domestic traditions and world cultural heritage.

Futurism at the beginning of the 20th century

Derogatory comments about previous and modern literature given by representatives of another modernist movement- futurism (from Latin futurum - future). A necessary condition for the existence of this literary phenomenon its representatives considered the atmosphere shocking, a challenge to public taste, a literary scandal. The Futurists' desire for mass theatrical performances with dressing up, painting faces and hands was caused by the idea that poetry should come out of books onto the square, to sound in front of spectators and listeners. Futurists (V. Mayakovsky, V. Khlebnikov, D. Burliuk, A. Kruchenykh, E. Guro, etc.) put forward a program for transforming the world with the help of new art, which abandoned the legacy of its predecessors. At the same time, unlike representatives of other literary movements, in substantiating their creativity they relied on basic sciences- mathematics, physics, philology. The formal and stylistic features of Futurism poetry were the renewal of the meaning of many words, word creation, the rejection of punctuation marks, special graphic design of poems, depoeticization of language (the introduction of vulgarisms, technical terms, the destruction of the usual boundaries between “high” and “low”).

Conclusion

Thus, in the history of Russian culture, the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the emergence of diverse literary movements, various aesthetic views and schools. However, original writers, true artists of words, overcame the narrow framework of declarations, created highly artistic works that outlived their era and entered the treasury of Russian literature.

The most important feature of the beginning of the 20th century was the universal craving for culture. Not being at the premiere of a play in the theater, not being present at an evening of an original and already sensational poet, in literary drawing rooms and salons, not reading a newly published book of poetry was considered a sign of bad taste, unmodern, unfashionable. When a culture becomes a fashionable phenomenon, this is a good sign. “Fashion for culture” is not a new phenomenon for Russia. This was the case during the time of V.A. Zhukovsky and A.S. Pushkin: let's remember " Green lamp" and "Arzamas", "Society of Lovers of Russian Literature", etc. At the beginning of the new century, exactly one hundred years later, the situation practically repeated itself. silver Age came to replace the Golden Age, maintaining and preserving the connection of times.