Писательская стратегия и литературная репутация М. А. Кузмина в раннесоветский период (1917–1924 гг.)

Doctoral theses defended at the University of Tartu, summary in Estonian and English

The current thesis deals with the literary reputation and writer strategy of Mikhail Kuzmin in the first post-revolution years. The studied period lasts from 1917, when Kuzmin enthusiastically greeted the February Revolution, and 1924, when many of his undertakings failed, and he was pushed aside from the literary process. The main goal of this research is to examine the literary reputation and writer strategy of Kuzmin in dynamics paying special attention to his political and social position as well as his aesthetics. A wide range of artistic and critical texts by Kuzmin is involved, many of which are analyzed for the first time. Theory of practice is chosen as a main methodological tool. Another basic concept of research is the idea of the new identities formed by the Russian Revolution. Chapter 1 describes the main trends in Kuzmin’s literary reputation and strategy with the special focus on formation of the stable core of his reputation, which critics and the author himself had been addressing over the years. Chapter 2 focuses both on works written by Kuzmin in 1917 and his political and social position during this time. Chapter 3 is dedicated to period from 1917 to 1921 which can be described as Kuzmin’s crisis and disappointment in post-revolutionary reality. The main trend in his creativity in this time is work for theater. Chapter 4 is devoted to Kuzmin’s participation in literary unions both unofficial and official. Chapter 5 deals with the period from 1923 to 1924, when writer strategies failed, and analyzes the reasons of it. The research demonstrates one of the possible way for adaptation of writers to the new cultural conditions of the XX century and also clarifies the period which for many years remained the least studied in the Mikhail Kuzmin’s biography.