354
MAX HAYWARD
quently accused in the Soviet press of borrowing its propaganda
techniques "from the kitchen of the late Dr. Goebbels."
The
whole atmosphere of the period is suggested in Lev Kassil's alle–
gory "The Tale of the Three Master Craftsmen." Its reference to
the terrorization of creative artists by Stalin ("King Vainglori–
ous") is so obvious that one may ask how it ever got into print. It
seems likely that the censor who dealt with it was not overanxiow
to admit that he saw any resemblance between the unhappy king–
dom of Sinegoriya and post-war Russia. It is probably unique as
an anti-Stalinist satire published while Stalin was still alive.
The death of "King Vainglorious" in March, 1953, had a
liberating effect far greater even than that of the war. In the last
eight years, though sudden advances have often been succeeded
by alarming setbacks, there has been a constant and cumulative
improvement in nearly all spheres. Though ultimate Party con–
trol of literature and the arts has never been abandoned
(and
could of course at any moment be restored in all its vigor) it has
nevertheless been exercised, on the whole, with restraint and
in–
telligence and has even, for brief periods, been relaxed to a de–
gree which would have been quite inconceivable in Stalin's day.
The paraphernalia of socialist realism and particularly the basic
concept of
paTtiinost
have been firmly maintained in theory, but
in practice there has often been considerable latitude in the inter–
pretation of them. Outright questioning of the Party's right to
control literature has always provoked a strong reaction, but that
its wisdom may sometimes
be
doubted by implication is shown
by the passage from Ehrenburg's memoirs quoted above. Alto–
gether one has the impression that censorship controls have
gradually been relaxed to some extent, much more being left
to
the discretion of editors. Since "mistakes" are no longer auto–
matically denounced as crimes, editors have become increasingly ,
ready to take risks. This new confidence is well expressed by the
editor of
Novy
MiT,
Alexander Tvardovsky, who wrote in one
of his poems a few years ago: "In future, too, things may
be
