No Conflict on the Stage: The Theory of Beskonfliktnost' in Postwar Soviet Drama

The theory of beskonfliktnost’ (conflictlessness) is one of the most notorious examples of the stagnation of the cultural sphere under Stalin, yet its origins and exponents are little known. Condemned widely at the Second Soviet Writers’ Congress in 1954, the term became used as a catch‐all for the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Russian review (Stanford) 2018-07, Vol.77 (3), p.427-445
Main Author: GARDINER, JESSE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Campaigns
Drama
Idealism
Legislatures
Realism
Socialist realism
Stagnation
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The theory of beskonfliktnost’ (conflictlessness) is one of the most notorious examples of the stagnation of the cultural sphere under Stalin, yet its origins and exponents are little known. Condemned widely at the Second Soviet Writers’ Congress in 1954, the term became used as a catch‐all for the excesses of Socialist Realism which eschewed the need for deeper analysis of the atrophy of postwar Soviet theater. This article explores the development of the theory in cultural discourse and analyses some of the play texts that resulted from it. In the process it situates the concept of beskonfliktnost’ within the context of 1930s utopian idealism and the Stakhanovite drive to overreach. Finally the article discusses how it came about that dramatist Nikolai Virta was made a scapegoat for the theory, despite never having written a “conflictless” play, and positions his fall against the backdrop of the anti‐cosmopolitan campaign.
ISSN:0036-0341
1467-9434
DOI:10.1111/russ.12188