“I dream of being with my colleagues in the Soviet Union”:  the problem of repatriation among émigré artists in France (1920s–1930s)

K. V. Krasnoslobodtsev

doi:10.28995/2686-7249-2022-9-120-131

“I dream of being with my colleagues in the Soviet Union”: the problem of repatriation among émigré artists in France (1920s–1930s)

K. V. Krasnoslobodtsev

https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2022-9-120-131

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Abstract

In the first years after the revolution, the relations between the intelligentsia and the young Soviet government were more complicated than those of other social groups. Among the emigrant artists, there is a whole range of models of relations with the Bolsheviks: from military emigration, irreconcilable opponents of the “Sovdepia” through doubters who kept neutrality, to fierce supporters. The artists had a large “period of reflection” during which it is necessary to determine their attitude to the new government. However, it was possible to maintain the status of “ambivalent emigration” only for a short time. The intelligentsia did not have a special amnesty to return, but the Soviet government tried to return cultural and artistic figures. They were treated not with the tools of mass agitation, but with personal influence, sometimes with the help of relatives who remained in Russia. In relation to artists, arguments were used appealing to their creative self-realization, the demand and “necessity” of their art at home. Features of repatriation among Russian emigrant artists in France are considered by the author on the basis of archival documents.

Keywords

russian emigration, artistic emigration, artist, France, archives, repatriation,

About the Author

K. V. Krasnoslobodtsev

Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation

Konstantin V. Krasnoslobodtsev

125047, Moscow, Miusskaya Square, bld. 6

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Supplementary files

For citation: Krasnoslobodtsev K.V. “I dream of being with my colleagues in the Soviet Union”: the problem of repatriation among émigré artists in France (1920s–1930s). RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2022;(9):120-131. https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2022-9-120-131

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