Vasilii Grossman’s Za pravoe delo [For a Just Cause] reflects the fate of many novels written during the Stalin era. The book was submitted to harsh censorship and its long path to publication is an outstanding example of the Soviet state’s control over literature. This aspect of the novel is as interesting and important as the novel itself, especially because it was meticulously documented by Grossman himself. The novel is set during the Second World War and focuses primarily on the first years of the war in Stalingrad. The plot mainly centres around the Shaposhnikov family and their close friends and relatives; however, it also extends to depictions of Hitler as well as a kolkhoznik [collective farmer], …
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Citation: Shulga, Jekaterina. "Za pravoe delo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 June 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21499, accessed 21 November 2024.]