Russian Short Stories 03/03/22 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No, this is not about the war in Ukraine. It's about an actual book. I bought a small paperback a couple months ago at a used book store. The ramshackle shop smelled of plumbing issues, the very antithesis of what one would hope for when perusing dusty old books. But before my nose gave out, I did stumble on something that looked promising; "15 Great Russian Short Stories" by John W. Strahan, 1965. Foolishly, I read one of the stories to the kids. I think the casual irony of "Death of a Government Clerk" was lost on them. The book sat on the shelf for a bit, as I focused on other things. Today, it stood out to me. Russia is very present right now, even in casual conversation. Overnight, it has become quite popular (again) in the western world, for everyone to hate Russia. It's been alarmingly popular and swift. I'm not comfortable with how agile people's anger and emotions are in the public square. One moment they're livid about one thing, and the next moment they've forgotten what it was they were angry about in favor of some new spectre. In any case, I picked up the little paperback and flipped through it. For better or for worse, I flipped to an introduction of Maxim Gorky. I'll quote the whole thing here for you (with credit to John W Strahan, of course): ---------- "Alexei Maximovich Peshkov(1868-1936), better known by his psuedonym, Maxim Gorky, meaning bitter, was born in Nizhni Novgorod (now Gorky) on the Volga. Early orphaned, he left his poverty-stricken home at the age of twelve for a life of vagabondage with the tramps of Southern Russia. He worked as a "casual" in the seaports of the Black Sea, in the summer joining the barefoot brigades which tramped from Odessa to the Crimea and from the Crimea to the prairies of the Norther Caucasus where they were welcomed at harvest time. "He returned to Russia in 1928 to be royally welcomed. He was a friend of both Lenin and Stalin. "He died in 1936 and the cause of his death may still remain a mystery. As he suffered from tuberculosis all his life, it may well be that he died of natural causes. However, in 1936, his death triggered one of Stalin's most spectacular purges of the Treason Trials when the attending physicians, labeled Troskyite-Fascits, were executed for having plotted to poison Gorky. "In an early letter to Chekhov, he wrote: "'From age of ten, I have had to stand on my own feet. I had no time to study. I could only gulp life and work, and life warmed me with blows of the fists, and stoked me with everything good and bad, finally got me warmed up, got me started.' "He also gulped books of all sorts, greedily devouring them wherever and whenever he could lay hands on them. "He was fortunate in his friendships with Korolenko, the novelist, and Checkhove, both of whom were of great assistance to him in his initial literary efforts. "He began writing in 1892, and by 1898 had won fame in Russia with his collected tales and, abroad in 1902, with his play The Lower Depths. "His early stories were romantic tales of tramps and gypsies; he abandoned these for socialist realism, for stories and plays of depressing lives described with Defoe-like accuracy and, finally, for exposing capitalist society in a Marxist fashion (Mother, Clim Samgin). "Before making any definitive evaluation of Gorky, the man, the artist, and the political figure, it is to be hoped that there will be found, as Gleb Struve says, "someone to strip his true face of artificial hagiographic varnish." "'Chelkash' was written in 1894 and published in 1895 in a journal for young folks, Russkoe Bogatsvo, No. 6 (Russian Treasures). It was included in Volume I of Sketches and Stories, 1898. Both in the journal and in the 1898 edition, it was simply entitled "Episode." Korolenko was instrumental in its publication in the journal. The essence of the story was given Gorky by a barefoot hobo, a former grenadier soldier who was in the next bed to his in the hospital at Kiolaev. "In the first edition there was a scene in which Chelkash observes the games of street urchins. This was later omitted on Korolenko's advice. "The background is authentic, for Gorky had known and worked with such 'ex-people,' as he himself called them, as Chelkash. "The men he describes are not heroes, but the most ordinary of human beings, whom he vividly characterizes against a background of nature--a calm sea or turbulent waves. "Men who have broken with regular society, never accepting the yoke of permanent work--miserably poor but never whining--with a devil-may-care attitude and a dream of some day 'making it'--alienated and rootless but with a fierce pride and self-respect and an unswerving loyalty to freedom--such a man is the thief and hobo Chelkash. "In contrast is the peasant Gavrily--also poor, but lacking that spark. A prisoner of his own proper little world, somewhat of a hypocrite--fiercely greedy--he will demean himself, lose his self-respect, even commit murder for money, and yet remain chained to his poor little plot of land, whining and trying to stand in well with God for good of his eternal soul. "For the Gavrilas, Gorky has understanding mingled with impatient contempt, but for the Chelkashes of this world, because of their dream and their free spirit, Gorky has both sypathy and empathy." ---------- Notwithstanding the fact that people around me seem to feel like now is the time to hate all things Russian, I'm inclined to find John W Strathan's description of 'Chelkash' quite fascinating. Rather than burn the book in solidarity with the Ukraine, I think I'll read 'Chelkash' and see what it has to offer. As a bonus, there's an old receipt from 4 Feb 1966 in here, which I'll use as a bookmark.