WHAT RUSSIA READS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1932, Page 18

WHAT RUSSIA READS

Some interesting information regarding authorship in Soviet Bussia is given by Mrs. Cecil Chesterton in her 'book, "My Bussian Venture, 7' says the Melbourne "Age." After referl"ing to the restrictions placed on the journalist in Russia, where the newspapers are owned by tho State, and everything printed in them has to be coloured with Communist propaganda, she writes: —"The novelist is equally restricted. Bomance is practically at a discount, its only possible exploitation being the triumph of the Soviet disciple over a Bussian of the old school, who, however, must inevitably be the villain. Thwarted passion between a mutually attracted pair has no sympathy in the "Union of Socialist Soviet Bepublics. The Registrar of Divorce and Marriage unties every knot, and the man who loves and can get no response is usually a figure of amusement. Humour still remains, and with the bubbling sense of fun which breaks up the Russian melancholy as the spring sunshine dissolves the ice, the matrimonial laws are perpetually lampooned.

"There is a good market for short stories, but novels are less easy to place. The fate of a book is decided by the- Soviet publishing boards, to whom all manuscripts must be submitted. The theme rather than tho writing is the chief consideration, and anything that detracts from the paramount importance of the Government over individual interests is not likely to win out on aesthetic value. If tho board turns down a book no other market is available. One firm's refusal may mean another's consent in other countries; in Eussia the Soviet's decision is ■final. The same applies to plays or film stories. A Government board approves, or the reverse; there is no second chance. On the other hand the author

STRICT CENSORSHIP

receives his royalties punctually, and there is no restriction on his receipts. But, like the journalist, there is little he can do with money, however much he earns, except invest it in State loans, and even then he must not have too large a balance at tho bank. It is not advisable, I was told, to have more than a thousand roubles to your immediate credit. Hoarding is a criminal offence, and in the case of coins, liable to the extreme penalty.

"All the famous Bussian authors can be bought in cheap editions, with the most popular European and American. There is no copyright in the Union of Socialist Sovitt Bepublics, and the translations aro, every one, pirated, so that best sellers add large sums to the Soviet Exchequer year after year. Wherever we went we found our Edgar Wallace; crooks and sleuths have a fundamental attraction quite apart from polities, and secret police, commisasrs, peasants and workers all consume the one and only Edgar. Bernard Shaw, Hugh Walpole, John Galsworthy, Dreiser, Sinclair Lewis, all the literary giants are well represented. G. K. Chesterton is also very popular, and so is H. G. Wells.

"Children's books, as such, are not a feature of Russian literature. Fairy tales of all descriptions arc taboo, as being dangerously near religious topics! Fabulous creatures of the imagination, elves or angelSj magicians or prophets, aro held in grave suspicion. The young mind must not be tampered with. The dawning intelligence may not be warped with foolish legends like Jack the Giant Killer or The Sleeping Beauty. Life for the little ones must be real and earnest, and woe to the man or woman who shall turn the babes and sucklings from the consideration of tractors, aeroplanes or the vital necessity of the Five Year Plan!"