Creation of Literary Associations of Writers of Chuvashia in the 1920s-1930s.

Agaeva Ekaterina Vasil'evna PhD in History Associate Professor, Chair of General Disciplines, Chuvash State Agrarian University 428003, Russia, Republic of Chuvashia, Cheboksary, K. Marx str., 29, of. Moskovsky Ave. agaeva.ek@yandex.ru Sergeev Tikhon Sergeevich Doctor of History Professor, Russian and General History Department, Chuvash State Pedagogical University 428003, Russia, Republic of Chuvashia, Cheboksary, K. Marx str., 38 tikhon-sergeev@yandex.ru Mikhailova Renata Vasil'evna Doctor of Philosophy Professor, Head of Chair of General Disciplines, Chuvash State Agrarian University 428003, Russia, Republic of Chuvashia, Cheboksary, K. Marx str., 29 neti-mix@yandex.ru

Tikhonov Anatolii Sergeevich Doctor of Philosophy Professor, Head of Chair of General Disciplines, Chuvash State Agrarian University 428003, Russia, Republic of Chuvashia, Cheboksary, K. Marx str., 29 tihonov.an12@yandex.ru

 A comprehensive study of the professional and social activities of the creative intelligentsia in Russia, comprehension of its role in the development of culture is impossible without an exhaustive development of this topic in individual regions.

Each region or national republic has its own specifics, conditions and ways of forming the intelligentsia. Writers, as representatives of the creative intelligentsia, are the most vivid expression of the national self-awareness of the people. The young Chuvash Autonomous Region, formed in 1920, and received the status of an autonomous republic in 1925, developed both economically and culturally. Cultural institutions and special educational institutions were opened. The growth of periodicals in the Chuvash language required professional specialists - journalists, publicists, critics, etc. Talented young people were able to study at leading universities of the country on vouchers from the republic. It was at educational institutions that the first literary circles appeared, instilling a love of poetry and prose in young people.

The first literary circles were opened in Moscow, Leningrad, Kazan, Samara ^[1]. It should be noted that the creation of literary associations became a kind of experiment in Soviet Russia. It was necessary to raise the educational level of the population, because 80% were illiterate, as D. S. Moskovskaya and O. V. Romanova noted in their work ^[13]. Soon similar associations appeared on the territory of Chuvashia: in Cheboksary, Vurnary, Alikov and other settlements. Since Cheboksary was a "quiet city" at that time, the nearby cities where quite a lot of Chuvash students lived became temporary "hotbeds" of new cultural transformations. In 1921, the Chuvash Literary Society was opened in Kazan, at the Empire Red Army Club. At the same time, another circle appeared around the editorial office of the newspaper "Kanash" (Council). These circles published handwritten magazines with short stories and poems by both well-known and novice authors. In 1921, in Simbirsk, the famous Chuvash publicist, poet, ethnographer A. P. Prokopyev-Milli created the "Chuvash Literary Circle". The staff of the newspaper "Sutala" (Light) and students of the Chuvash Teachers' Seminary took an active part in the work of the circle. Two issues of the handwritten magazine "Atal Yurri" (Volga Song) were published jointly. The members of the circle were also engaged in the translation of foreign literature into the Chuvash language, popularization of Chuvash literature among the Russian population ^[14].Gradually Cheboksary became the center of culture of the Chuvash people, where M. K. Sespel, N. I. Polorussov-Shelebi, N. Ya. Zolotov, S. V. Elger and other literary figures moved from other cities.

On December 18, 1921, the "Society of Lovers of Chuvash Literature and Literature named after N. I. Ashmarin" was established. Initially, this community was formed in the form of a free association, where writers of Chuvashia with different creative approaches to literature could consist. However, without reaching a consensus on the further development of the Chuvash literary language and the Chuvash script, the above-mentioned society split nine months later.

Most writers advocated the reform of the Chuvash language. A. P. Milli, D. P. Petrov-Yuman and some others advocated the preservation of the original Chuvash language, proposed to form Chuvash instead of foreign words ^[9]. In April 1923, a group of writers led by A. P. Milli created the "Chuvash Literary Society". Later, the leader and members of this society: A. P. Milli, D. P. Petrov-Yuman, S. V. Elger, N. T. Vasyanka, N. I. Shelebi and others were accused of adherence to bourgeois-nationalist elements, of abandoning Russian culture and switching to the assimilation of Western culture, which caused the dissolution of the society ^[15].In June 1923, the Union of Chuvash Writers and Journalists "Kanash" was established, which included about 40 professional journalists, publicists, poets, prose writers. D. S. Elmen, N. Ya. Zolotov, S. V. Elger, N. T. Vasyanka, F. P. Pavlov, N. V. Vasiliev (Shubossini), G. V. Zaitsev (Tal-Mrza) and others spoke about the need to develop Chuvash literature and language, to introduce scientific, international terms ^[6].

They found their inspiration in the revolutionary events, the civil war, the heroic labor of the workers, etc. Since July 1924, the literary and artistic magazine "Suntal" (Anvil) began to be published by the forces of the association. It should be emphasized that Kanash has done a great job in introducing the masses to education and literature. V. I. Sokolova and V. B. Lastochkin noted in their work that the implementation of some aspects of national policy was carried out through small public formations, to which this union can be attributed ^[17]. By 1925, about 200 people were in various literary circles.

The split that occurred in 1921 in the "Society of Lovers of Chuvash Literature and Literature named after N. I. Ashmarin", on the one hand, led to constant criticism of some writers in excessive nationalism, on the other - contributed to the development of different genres and trends in national literature.The transformation of the Chuvash Autonomous Region into an autonomous republic in April 1925 brought the national culture to a new level.

Various newspapers, magazines "Samrak kommunist" ("Young Communist"), "Yalkor" ("Selkor") began to be published. From 1926 to 1929, the number of workers and peasants correspondents at the editorial offices of newspapers and magazines increased from 500 to 1,500. Of these, about 80 people, along with notes, published poems and stories, which indicates a change in literacy. Correspondents usually stood on the side of the new government. R. V. Mikhailova in her work gives examples of how many peasants worried that they would not be classified as "well-off" and wrote about it in the newspapers ^[11]. There were 22 literary circles and 8 sections on the territory of the republic, in which about 300 young writers, journalists, and laborers were involved ^[19].

In the mid-1920s there came a turning point in the development of literature. In this case, the fracture is a profound change. The decisions of the XIII Congress of the RCP (b) on the press (1924) and the resolutions of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) "On the party's policy in the field of fiction (1925) became the beginning of total ideological control over literary works. The struggle against bourgeois and counter-revolutionary elements intensified. The emphasis was placed on the education of ideologically correct communist cadres ^[12]. Party and state figures often spoke to the writers with guiding parting words: S. P. Petrov, V. I. Toksin, A. N. Nikitin. Freedom of creativity began to be restricted, denunciation was welcomed.

The Chuvash Literary Society was closed. M. F. Yuryev, N. V. Shubossini, P. P. Khuzangai and others were accused of creating extra-class works, praising the past.

In June 1927, the Kanash Union was reorganized into the Chuvash Association of Proletarian Writers by analogy with the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers (RAPP), established in 1925. On the one hand, all literary activity became controlled by party structures, but on the other hand, the creative intelligentsia of the republic united again, and the unifying principle was socialist idealism, transformed by 1932 into the style of socialist realism. The second half of the 1920s was a period of rapid growth of the Chuvash national literature. This process was influenced by the meetings of A.M. Gorky, V. V. Mayakovsky with writers of Chuvashia. Some of them subsequently corresponded with famous masters of the word. The works "The Earth Speaks" by V. E. Rzai, "The Daughter of the Storm" by V. O. Alager, "The Village in Plmen" by D. V. Isaev about the events of the revolutionary years, have received popular recognition. There were works for children "Ethnus and Marusya", "In a quiet hut" by M. D. Trubina, "The Cat and the Rooster" by N. I. Shelebi.

Both young talents and experienced masters continued to be sent to educational institutions of the country to improve their professional level ^[2]. His studies were conducted at the Moscow State University, the Gorky Literary Institute, the State Institute of Journalism, the Moscow Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages, Leningrad State University and others. E. Z. Maden studied at the postgraduate school of the Research Institute of Culture of Oriental Peoples in Leningrad, and N. Ya. Zolotov at the postgraduate school at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1920-1925, the number of writers with higher education in the republic was about 5%, and by 1935-1940 it was already about 20% ^[3].

In 1931-1932 . The Central Committee of the CPSU (b) adopted a number of resolutions aimed at complete ideological dictate by the state. In his work S. S. Bakaryagin concludes that "party ideology became the only possible one for broadcasting in all spheres of society" ^[4]. Literary groups and societies began to be abolished. The Union of Soviet Writers, formed in 1934, became the unifying organization of writers supporting the Soviet government, the structural unit of which was the Union of Writers of Chuvashia.

In June 1934, the First Congress of the Union of Writers of Chuvashia opened. Authoritative writers were elected to the board of this union: A. I. Zolotov, I. S. Maksimov-Koshkinsky, D. D. Danilov, M. F. Danilov-Chaldun. The newly created writers' organization of Chuvashia began to carry out active socio-political work. Its members - writers of Chuvashia regularly held creative meetings with the workers of the republic. The role of the Writers' Union was significant in promoting the publication of books. It is worth emphasizing that the content of these books had to correspond to the dissemination of the theme of the labor of workers and peasants, the achievements of Soviet power. It is important to note that the works of Chuvash writers in the 1930s reached a professional level. This is evidenced by the recognition of the works of Chuvash writers at the All-Union level. Poems by P. P. Khuzangai, Ya. G. Ukhsai, stories by A. F. Talvir and others were translated into Russian. Works of Russian classics were published in the Chuvash language. Poems and stories by Tatar, Udmurt, Mari, and Mordovian authors were published in almanacs and magazines of the republic. These moments, in fact, contributed to the exchange of experience of creative wealth between different regions.

It should be noted that during the period under review, contradictions arose in the writing environment between writers representing different ideological trends ^[5]. They reflected the installation of the CPSU (b) coming "from above" to constantly monitor deviations towards nationalism and various biases. Within the framework of such a party setup, some representatives of the creative intelligentsia acted to "curry favor" with the board of the Writers' Union, seeking to find lines in the works of colleagues for which the authors could be classified as "enemies of the people". It is also known that sometimes the Writers' Union itself initiated criticism of the work of a particular writer. It is clear that such actions justified the re-aggression that had begun against "enemies of the people" ^{[9, 10]}. In the context of what has been said, it is important to note that the label "non-Soviet writer" was already attached to recognized masters. There is a known case when the secretary of the Cheboksary City Party Committee summoned the people's poet of the Chuvash ASSSR S. V. Elger and demanded to purge "enemies of the people" ^[7].

  In 1937, according to the order of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, 1800 people were to be repressed in the republic, 300 of them were to be shot ^[20]. V. E. Mitta, A. I. Zolotov, D. P. Petrov-Yuman, P. P. Khuzangai and others were repressed. Similar processes took place in other regions of the country ^{[16, 18]}.So, despite the complexity of the historical period of the 1920s-1930s, when contradictory socio-political processes took place, there is no doubt that this period was the time of formation and development of the national Chuvash literature.

We came to the conclusion that the peculiarities of the origin and development of literary associations of Chuvash writers acted as a becoming whole, which includes moments and stages of formation: 1) since the 1920s, literature lovers have been uniting into groups that begin to conduct educational and publishing activities; 2) due to the growth of periodicals in the Chuvash language, Chuvash journalism appears, represented by both professional journalists and various authors of articles from the masses; 3) there is a rapid growth of Chuvash literature with a variety of literary genres, the number of professional writers is growing.

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