Journal Article

Znaniye Realizminin Marksist Kökenleri: Maksim Gorki ile Sosyalist Edebiyata Giden Yol

Tetik, Kevser

2025

Overview

The “Znanie” realism, a trend within the realism movement in Russian literature, is represented by a literary union formed around the eponymous publishing house, consisting of numerous writers such as Maxim Gorky, Ivan Bunin, Alexander Kuprin, Leonid Andreyev, and Vikenty Veresayev. Under the leadership of Maxim Gorky, who took over the “Znanie” Publishing House in 1902, the foundations of the socialist realism movement in Russian literature were laid through the works published until 1913. The works in question begin to criticize the bourgeoisie and amplify the voices of workers. Thus, a Marxist tradition emerges in the literature of the 1900s-1910s. The aim of this tradition is to awaken class consciousness among workers, who formed a new readership, through revolutionary propaganda and agitation in order to mobilize them for social justice and equality. As is well known, it is impossible to understand the literature of a people or an era without deeply analyzing the conflicts that arise in a class-divided society and the psychology they engender. Accordingly, this study, approached through the Marxist critical method, aims to introduce “Znanie” realism, a transition period toward socialist realism, and to explore its literary and societal role. Research and analyses have revealed that various Marxist works, written in the revolutionary spirit to criticize the petty bourgeoisie and to raise awareness and motivate the working class, were produced in the genres of prose, poetry, and drama.

• Publisher: Uluslararası Kıbrıs Üniversitesi,Cyprus International University,Uluslararas Kıbrıs Üniversitesi / Cyprus International University
• Subject: Gorky, Maksim (1868-1936) / Literary movements / Marxism / Middle class / Poetry / Propaganda / Prose / Readership / Realism / Russian Literature / Social classes / Socialist realism / Studies of Literature / Working class