Zero growth in the desert
Platonov’s Foundation Pit and the Soviet production novel
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
During the forced industrialisation and collectivisation of agriculture in the Soviet Union, the Party demanded that writers place themselves in the service of establishing socialism. A new genre emerged: the production novel, in which themes and ideological leitmotifs of the First Five-Year plan were given artistic expression. In formal terms, The Foundation Pit is a classic production novel, while at the same time standing in fundamental contravention of this genre norm. In the novel, Platonov criticises the abstract power and its ossified language, and his sympathy lies entirely with the socially deprived and “poor in spirit”, who hope in vain for salvation by the promised glories of socialism. He takes a stand against the conformism of production literature because he claims the right to think for himself.
(Osteuropa 8-10/2016, pp. 369–380)