French left intellectuals and the Soviet Union: mechanisms of interaction and literary contacts in the 1920s and mid-1930s

Abstract

In the 1920s – 1930s the communist idea was diffused among intellectuals all over the world, including France, and famous cultural figures often visited the Soviet Union. Romain Rolland, Henri Barbusse, André Gide, Luc Dyurten, André Malraux and others were among them. The leaders of the French Communist Party and the Soviet Government considered the support of French intellectuals to be very important for the positive image of the Soviet Union in the West. The Soviet leaders applied purposeful policy of influence on French intellectuals. The methods of their influence were simple, but quite effective: warm reception, popularity of visiting authors’ works and effective program of visits. There were also the efforts of authors’ unification on political basis. Still, in spite of all the efforts to create a positive image, French intellectuals noticed certain deformation of the state system and prohibition of creative freedom in the USSR. Positive attitude to the Soviet Union did not exclude independence of mind. The article analyses three examples of such an independence: Barbusse’s activity which is a striking example of the so-called “creative Stalinist” position; the political direction of the Surrealists led by Breton who broke off relations with the Communists and the USSR in 1932 and the activity of the French "fellow travelers" (Serge, Pascal, Gilbo). Different views on the Soviet regime later led to separation of French intellectuals when some of them acted as «anti-totalitarian left» ones whereas the others were called «totalitarian intellectuals».