New about Andrei Platonov: a conceptual view on the unknown episodes of the writer's creative biography and key plots of Russian literature of the Soviet era

Malygina N.M. Andrei Platonov i literaturnaia Moskva: A.K. Voronsky, A.M. Gor’ky, B.A. Pil’'niak, B.L. Pasternak, Artem Veselyi, S.F. Budantsev, V.S. Grossman. Moscow; St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriia, 2018. 590 s. ISBN ISBN 978-5-4469-1422-7

Kholikov Alexey A.,

Doctor of Philology, Associate Professor of the Theory of Literature Department Lomonosov Moscow State University

e-mail: aakholikov@gmail.com

The publication provides an analytical review of the new monograph by N.M. Malygina about Andrei Platonov and literary Moscow of the 1920–1940s. Attention is first of all drawn to unknown episodes of the creative biography of the writer and his place among “professional writers” (among them — A.K. Voronsky, A.M. Gorky, B.A. Pilnyak, B.L. Pasternak, Artem Vesely, S.F. Budantsev, V.S. Grossman). There is not only the intersection of the fate of the listed authors with Platonov, but also a creative dialogue with him. In prose, the interchange of images and motifs is revealed, and, on the one hand, they reveal a common appeal to the symbols of A.A. Block, indicating a strong connection with the traditions of symbolism, and on the other — the aesthetic principles of the avant-garde. Thus, it is concluded that the creative method of these writers has acquired the qualities that Voronsky wrote about when developing the theory of neorealism. Finally, the serious source-study equipment of the book is underlined (the author used the archives of both capitals: RGAE, RGALI, OR IMLI, RO IRLI, etc.) and the fundamental scientific reference apparatus (having a name index allows you to work with the publication as a useful reference book). In conclusion, the clarity and accessibility of the scientific style of the monograph under review is noted.

Keywords: A. Platonov, creative biography, soviet literature.