Stalin, literary critic

ChrisD(RJ) chrisd at russiajournal.com
Sun Mar 2 23:12:27 PST 2003


Boris Pasternak was not out of the way, and was one whom Stalin might easily have chosen to destroy. He had never conformed to the socialist-realist model, nor indeed before Stalin's era had he fitted into the prevailing orthodoxy. He was an idealist, an individualist; his autobiographical work discussed pre-revolutionary influences: many people died for less. Yet, as legend has it, Stalin is supposed to have instructed his henchmen to "leave that cloud-dweller alone". --- BTW rumor has it that this was because Paternak was sleeping with Beria's wife.



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