The Russian Association of Proletarian Writers, also known under its transliterated abbreviation RAPP (russian: Российская ассоциация пролетарских писателей, РАПП) was an official creative union in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

established in January 1925."RAPP"
in Russian '' Literary Encyclopedia'' (1929-1939) Among its stated purposes was "to scourge and chastise in the name of the

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

", i.e., effectively encouraging

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

on ideological grounds. It became notorious for its enthusiastic attacks on writers who failed to fit the RAPP's definition of the "true Soviet writer", which have eventually earned criticism from the leadership of the

Bolshevik Party " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. Among its first targets were

Yevgeny Zamyatin Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin ( rus, Евге́ний Ива́нович Замя́тин, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ zɐˈmʲætʲɪn; – 10 March 1937), sometimes anglicized as Eugene Zamyatin, was a Russian author of science fictio ...

and

Boris Pilnyak Boris Andreyevich Pilnyak (''né'' Vogau russian: Бори́с Андре́евич Пильня́к; – April 21, 1938) was a Russian and Soviet writer who was executed by the Soviet Union on false claims of plotting to kill Joseph Stalin and ...

"Understanding

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...

, Larissa Rudova (1997)
p. 64
/ref> and both pro and anti-Bolshevik writers were targeted, notably including

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...

Maxim Gorki Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and sociali ...

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...

, and

Alexey Tolstoy Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (russian: link= no, Алексей Николаевич Толстой; – 23 February 1945) was a Russian writer who wrote in many genres but specialized in science fiction and historical novels. Despite having ...

. The administration of RAPP consisted of a number of Soviet writers and literary critics. Among them were Leopold Averbakh (founder and general secretary), Vladimir Kirshon,

Dmitry Furmanov Dmitriy Andreyevich Furmanov (russian: Дми́трий Андре́евич Фу́рманов; 7 November 1891, Sereda – 15 March 1926, Moscow) was a Russian writer, revolutionary and military officer. Biography He was born to a peasant fam ...

, Alexander Fadeyev, Alexei Selivanovskiy,

Vladimir Stavsky Vladimir Petrovich Stavsky (Владимир Петрович Ставский; born Kirpichnikov, Кирпичников; 30 July 1900 – 14 November 1943) was a Soviet Russian writer, editor (in 1937–1941, of ''Novy Mir'') and literary admin ...

, Yuri Libedinskiy,

Vladimir Yermilov Vladimir Vladimirovich Yermilov ( Russian: Владимир Владимирович Ермилов) (29 October 1904 – 19 November 1965) was a hard line Soviet literary critic best known for his role in hounding the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Ca ...

, and others. In April 1932, RAPP, together with other creative unions such as

Proletkult Proletkult ( rus, Пролетку́льт, p=prəlʲɪtˈkulʲt), a portmanteau of the Russian words "proletarskaya kultura" (proletarian culture), was an experimental Soviet artistic institution that arose in conjunction with the Russian Revolut ...

and the

Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians or RAPM (russian: Российская Ассоциация Пролетарских Музыкантов, РАПМ ) was a musicians' creative union of the early Soviet period. It was founded in Ju ...

, was disbanded and the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers (russian: Союз писателей СССР, translit=Soyuz Sovetstikh Pisatelei) was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded ...

was established instead.

References

External links

"Uncivil War: Fyodor Gladkov & the Smithy vs. RAPP"
fro
SovLit.net

in Literary Encyclopedia (in Russian) Soviet literature Russian writers' organizations Civic and political organizations based in the Soviet Union Organizations established in 1925 20th-century Russian literature {{soviet-stub