INTELLECTUALS AND WRITERS
SINCE THE THIRTIES
547
Czeslaw Milosz:
I would perhaps en large the issue, because it seems to
me that Havel represents what was once called the intelligentsia, the
driving force in the history of the Eastern part of Europe. In the nine–
teenth century, the Russian intelligentsia conceived of the idea of revo–
lution, and of course Chernyshevsky was the master of Lenin. In a way,
the Russian Revolution was first conceived in the minds of the intel–
ligentsia. The whole dissident movement against Communism was really
the work of the inheritors of the intelligentsia. This is a big problem
now, because, for instance, in Poland, the movement that on an
intellectual level contributed to the abo liti on of Communism consisted
of a relatively small group of intellectuals. (One of them, Adam Michnik,
is here at this conference.) After the fall of Communism in Poland, the
well-intentioned inheritors of the intelligentsia wanted to do what was
right for the people, but the people didn't necessarily like what they had
in mind. Havel's problem is a certain conflict between himself and the
society at large. In this case, I am completely with President Havel and
against his detractors. I am certainly very uneasy about the developments
in all those countries where various populist tendencies are directed
against the intelligentsia.
Qllestioll:
With the end of the Eastern bloc and the two-bloc system, the
end of what we know as Eastern Europe has arrived. What kind of entity
do you think will emerge now that there is no longer an Eastern and a
Western Europe? What about the concept of Central Europe? Is it also
artificial?
Czeslaw Milosz:
I am a great admirer of the idea of Central Europe.
My
friend Joseph Brodsky doesn't agree with me. When I speak of Cen–
tral Europe, he would say Western Asia - which is a point of view. But
there is something that I believe unites those countries of a certain zone
between Germany and Russia. They share a very turbulent past but also a
common heritage, as for instance in their architecture. Going from
Lithuania to Dubrovnik, one perceives a certain connectedness. The idea
of Central Europe was in a wayan experiment in harmonious existence
among those countries, at least among Poland, Czechoslovakia, and
Hungary; it was a nucleus. But today we are completely lost in particular
problems, and we have arrived at a moment when no one knows what
direction we will take. I don't know whether the earlier experiment of
Central Europe can have any value in the present situation .
Joseph
Brodsky:
I want to add something. I think the countries that
are implied when we say "Eastern Europe" are going to be defined not
