ERNST NEIZVESTNY
255
EN:
Before the Revolution the following situation existed: the major
writers who were confronted with many problems-social problems,
ethical ones, metaphysical ones-came to the conclusion that some–
thing was wrong with society. And this was not connected to the
wide mass of civilization in Russia, but with a narrow level of
culture. Therefore, Tolstoy or Dostoevsky or others could not simply
remain professional writers in the way that, say, Flaubert or the
Goncourt brothers could. They had to create a micro-aesthetics, a
micro-ethics, micro-religion. They became not merely professionals
but in a certain definite sense prophets. This is the structure, and the
structure was also preserved after the Revolution. Therefore, the
State and the Party relate to artists not only as people who are
creating beauty but as preachers of party ideas. And the people also
began to relate
to
them in a similar fashion. In certain individual
cases so does the artist.
RS:
Inequities and social problems were widespread everywhere in the
late nineteenth century. Why did this particular tradition develop in
Russia?
EN:
Because in Russia, both in the past and now, there are no
pluralistic social institutions, and therefore the artist takes these
problems on himself.
RS:
In the USSR you were officially condemned a number of times and
in a variety of official terms. What was your artistic and personal
reaction to being described a "nihilist," "decadent," "unpatriotic"?
Did you feel you ever were any of these things?
EN:
In our country terminology doesn't have any significance because
the official terminology isn't concerned with the adequacy of its
concepts. An example: when I was talking in front of the entire
Politburo and arguing, in particular, with Ilichev, the head of Soviet
ideology, I said, "Alright, you call me an abstractionist. I am not an
abstractionist though elements of abstract art do enter into my
creative work. Let's assume you don;t understand this. But in your
report Heinrich Boll was called an abstractionist. This is absollnely
absurd.
And he answered me, "You're a very intelligent person, Neiz–
vestny. You really don't understand what's up?" I understood. They
had given me a provocative question because at that time the word
abstractionist was their term for the concept "bad."
RS:
Why did this interview with the Politburo take place?
EN:
Because I had continually and publicly announced protests
against the situation connected with Soviet culture. Therefore, over
