From: World Literature Today | Date: January 1, 1995| Author: Rollberg, Peter | COPYRIGHT 1995 University of Oklahoma. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

When first reading the announcements for Soviet Literary Culture in the 1970s, I could not but feel intrigued. Finally, I thought, somebody dares to look at Russian culture of recent decades, while avoiding the stereotypes of "loyal communists" and "dissidents," "neo-Slavophiles" and "neo-Westernizers," and the like. Finally, I thought, there is somebody who has ventured to analyze that peculiar layer between the highbrow and lowbrow strata, a culture that gave flavor to Russian rank...