Люди и звери в неопочвеннической прозе

Новое литературное обозрение. 2021. № 170. С. 147–166.

Razuvalova A.

The focus of the article is the idea of neopochvennichestvo (or rural/traditional) prose of the “long 1970s” on the interaction between man and animal. Coming from the peasant milieu for the most part, the neopochvennestvo writers (Viktor Astafiev, Vladimir Soloukhin, Vasily Belov, Sergei Zalygin) were critical toward contemporary civilization and technological and economic progress, which in turn had destroyed the natural world. From their point of view, harmonious relationships between man and animal existed in traditional peasant culture, which was being destroyed by the processes of urbanization and industrial development. The article’s author analyzes conservative historical philosophy, which described the crisis of contemporary civilization as the process of the reciprocal degradation of man and animal (going wild and dehumanization), and proposed looking for a way out via following the “natural wisdom” embodied by animals (Zalygin), and overcoming the “beastly” instincts of human nature (Astafiev). The article also examines 1) the interrelation between the post-traumatic reaction of society to living through violence (war, state terror), the ideology of caring for animals promoted by Soviet animal protection organizations, and images of animal victims; 2) neopochvennichestvo strategies of the victimization of animals declared to be the victims of violence, which arose out of the logic of the implementation of modernization projects.

Keywords: экология, консерватизм, гуманизм, насилие, humanism, conservatism, ecology, violence, Soviet Literature, советская литература, жертва, victim, neopochvennichesnvo, animal protection movement, неопочвенничество, зоозащитное движение