From the history of “arrested” folk texts of 1930s: the case of song about “Chelyuskin” crew members (on the materials of investigative cases of the NKVD)
https://doi.org/10.28995/2658-5294-2022-5-2-86-108
Abstract
The article analyzes the content of the song about Chelyuskintsy (sung to the tune of “Murka”) and how it spread among the people. The lyrics were kept in the investigation cases initiated by the NKVD Department of the Sverdlovsk Oblast’ in the 1930s. NKVD operatives considered that song to be “counterrevolutionary” and arrested people with the lyrics written down. Analyzing the results of folklore research during Stalin’s day, the author determines the importance of the found archival materials within both the context of political communication of the 1930s and the scientific discussion of the heroic topicality of the Soviet mythology. Comparing the text versions of the song with each other as well as with other versions published earlier, the author identifies both common elements and differences of situational and/or personal nature. The analysis of the style and handwriting, personal and other data of the arrested, the stories of the text “circulation” in the testimonies of both the accused and the witnesses, supplemented by facts from other studies, allows us to conclude about the space and social environment for the “counterrevolutionary” work.
About the Author
S. I. Bykova
Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Svetlana I. Bykova, Cand. of Sci. (History), associate professor
bld. 51, Lenin Av., Ekaterinburg, 620083
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Review
For citations:
Bykova S.I. From the history of “arrested” folk texts of 1930s: the case of song about “Chelyuskin” crew members (on the materials of investigative cases of the NKVD). Folklore: Structure, Typology, Semiotics. 2022;5(2):86-108. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2658-5294-2022-5-2-86-108
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