On Socialist Realism
Dublin Core
Title
On Socialist Realism
Subject
Underground literature--Soviet Union
Politics and literature
Description
On Socialist Realism is an essay by Andrei Sinyavsky (under the pseudonym Abram Tertz) that critiques Socialist Realism, the official state-approved artistic style of the Soviet Union. It argues that this aesthetics is not true realism, but a form of religious art meant to serve the "Purpose" (Communism) by glorifying Soviet ideals and transforming human consciousness.
Creator
Tertz, Abram
Sinyavsky, Andrei
Publisher
Pantheon Books
Date
1961
Contributor
Dennis, George
Milosz, Czeslaw
Rights
In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted
Format
Paper; 13,5 x 21 cm
Language
eng-US
Type
Text
Identifier
On-Socialist-Realism.jpg
Coverage
Soviet Union
20th century
Citation
Tertz, Abram and Sinyavsky, Andrei, “On Socialist Realism,” Omeka, accessed June 3, 2026, https://omeka.ischool.utoronto.ca/items/show/649.