The Trial Begins [Paperback]

Abram (Andrei Sinyavsky) Tertz (Author), Max Hayward (Translator), George Denis (Translator), Czeslaw Milosz (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520046773 | ISBN-13: 978-0520046771 | Publication Date: November 13, 1982

Abram Tertz, one of the most important writers to emerge in the Soviet Union since World War II, came to prominence in 1959 when On Socialist Realism was published in the West. It was the first important critique of the central dogma of Soviet literature. It arrived with a novel. The Trial Begins, which was published in 1960. Other books followed these into the West, until in 1965 a respected literary scholar at the Gorky Institute, Andrei Sinyavsky was arrested, revealed to be Abram Tertz, tried, and sentenced to seven years in a forced labor camp.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (November 13, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520046773
• ISBN-13: 978-0520046771
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #475,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A somewhat underdeveloped minor classic, July 9, 2004

By 

Anyechka (Rensselaer, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trial Begins (Paperback)

This book is famous because it was written by Andrey Sinyavskiy under the pseudonym Abram Tertz, and those in the know about Russian literature are familiar with how, in September of 1965, he and Yuliy Daniel were arrested, put on a show trial for having published abroad, and sentenced to seven years of hard labour. That combined with the subject matter makes it somewhat of a minor classic, though it's not well-known among people who aren't into Russian literature.

This book takes place in the last year of Stalin's life, and centres around the Doctors' Plot. Stalin was planning a major new purge in the waning days of his life; these falsely accused doctors, the majority of whom were Jewish, were saved only because the dictator died on 5 March 1953. Though allegedly Stalin was planning to show his "generosity" by intervening at the last moment, saving them from being hanged in Red Square and sent off to Siberia instead. The term "Cosmopolitan" was a not-so-secret way of saying someone was Jewish. The doctor who is accused in this book is a Dr. Rabinovich, who illegally performed an abortion. He is being prosecuted by Vladimir Globov, father of Seryozha and husband of Marina (who is his second wife). Globov's home life is being disrupted because he finds out that Marina, who has just celebrated her thirtieth birthday, has also had an abortion (though we never find out if she's the one on whom Dr. Rabinovich operated), and his son Seryozha is cooking up some dangerous ideas against the government, ideas which are called "Trotskiyite" and bourgeois. We never find out any real specifics about the ideas Seryozha and his friend Katya are writing down; these two young people are firmly devoted to Socialism, Marxism, and Communism, and certainly don't want to overthrow the state, but it's never made clear just why Globov, Seryozha's grandmother and teachers, and Marina's lover Karlinskiy are so upset over these ideas when they're never actually gone into in very much detail. We just know they go against what the masses have been brainwashed into believing is the only way for Socialism to be practised and brought to the rest of the world. The end of the book is chilling, reminding me very much of the end of the film 'The Inner Circle.'

Besides lacking development about Seryozha and Katya's revolutionary ideas, we don't get much in the way of character development. This is more a book about ideas and the atmosphere in Russia right before Stalin's death, but more character development could have fit in too. Some of the things referenced in the book without explanation also might not be accessible to the average reader who isn't as familiar with Russian history, culture, or literature as I happen to be, and some of the page numbers on the page referencing Russian historical figures or books made in the text are off by several pages. For example, a reference to 'Dead Scowls,' where the speaker means 'Dead Souls,' is listed as being found on page 94, but it actually appears on 96.

It's not as accessible to the average Western reader as other Russian literature from around this time period, but for someone familiar with the time period and Russian history in general, it's a nice quick read.