Article

Name: At the last frontier. The tragic finale of the writer Vivian Itin

Authors: Sergey A. Papkov

Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Study of literature

Abstract:

This paper examines the concluding period of the life and career of Vivian Itin, Chairman of the Siberian branch of the Union of Soviet Writers and Editor-in-Chief of “Sibirskie Ogni” magazine, focusing on his struggle for exoneration amidst widespread state-sponsored repression. Consideration is given to the reasons behind the intolerant attitude toward the writer and his systematic persecution by the party bureaucracy during the early Soviet era. Emphasis is placed on the key milestones in the creative career of the writer, with particular attention on the events of 1937–1938 that lead to the expulsion of Itin from the Party and the loss of his leading role in the Union of Soviet Writers. Newly discovered documents are being introduced, illuminating the intensity and pressure the writer faced when accused of collaboration and anti-Soviet activities. The study illustrates how internal discord within the writer’s social context resulted in political oppression. The paper analyzes the false accusations and outright lies used in party inspections and investigations targeting Itin, resulting in a succession of humiliating testimonies and unsuccessful appeals based on his previous position. Notwithstanding attempts to demonstrate his allegiance through his literary and political activities, he suffered wrongful imprisonment and faced the threat of imminent execution. The analysis of the documents concerned allows for a reconstruction of the multifaceted relationship between the Stalinist regime and a literary community not entirely under Bolshevik ideology and morality.

Keywords: V. A. Itin, Union of Writers, “Sibirskie ogni”, All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, lit-erature, NKVD

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