''Molodaya Gvardiya'' (russian: Молодая гвардия, "Young Guard") is a monthly

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n magazine focusing on literature and politics, founded in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in May 1922 as an organ of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

. It had an immediate success with

Alexander Tarasov-Rodionov Alexander Ignatyevich Tarasov-Rodionov (russian: Алекса́ндр Игна́тьевич Тара́сов-Родио́нов; October 7, 1885 – September 3, 1938) was a Russian/Soviet writer and revolutionary, best known for his novel "Chocol ...

's short novel ''Shokolad'' (Chocolate), a controversial work in which the author "faced without blinking the truth about 'revolutionary justice' as meted out by the organs of state security, and with knowledge gained at first hand he revealed the methods used by the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...

to maintain the Bolsheviks in power"; the "chocolate" of the title stands for luxuries enjoyed "in the midst of proletarian starvation." It was not published from 1942 to 1947 due to the hardships of the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Between 1947 and 1956 it was published as a periodical

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

for young writers. It became increasingly conservative and nationalist over the years, publishing strongly nativist and sometimes xenophobic material during the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...

(although in 1964 it also published

Andrey Voznesensky Andrei Andreyevich Voznesensky (russian: link=no, Андре́й Андре́евич Вознесе́нский, 12 May 1933 – 1 June 2010) was a Soviet and Russian poet and writer who had been referred to by Robert Lowell as "one of th ...

's long poem "Oza," which was "a favorite among Soviet scientists and other intellectuals," as well as the results of the first Soviet public opinion survey, in which young people complained about their sexual ignorance). In 1970 the activities of ''Molodaya Gvardiya'' were examined at a session of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

. The magazine was perceived by Party authorities as excessively "russophilic." A decision was taken to remove the editor, Anatolii Nikonov, from his post. This crackdown marked the start of a new campaign against Russian nationalists by Soviet regime. Anatoly Ivanov succeeded Anatolii Nikonov in the post. In the 1980s the magazine opposed

perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

.Bill Keller,
In the Gantlet of Democracy, A Soviet Editor Takes Knocks
" ''New York Times'', June 18, 1988. It was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

in 1972.

References

{{Reflist, 33em 1922 establishments in Russia Communist magazines Magazines established in 1922 Magazines published in Moscow Russian-language magazines Literary magazines published in Russia Monthly magazines published in Russia Political magazines published in Russia Literary magazines published in the Soviet Union