On the morning of November 2nd, 2016, Prof. Sergey Ivanovic Kormilov from Moscow State University was invited to deliver a lecture themed on “The Evolvement of Russian Writers in the 20th Century” in School of International Studies (SIS). The lecture, hosted by Wang Yong, Director of Institute of Russian Language and Culture, attracted not only students and teachers from the Institute, but also students from other departments who were interested in Russian literature.
Prof. Kormilov, focusing the identity of Russian writers, conducted an in-depth analysis of Russian literature in the 20th Century from the perspective of history of literature in simple terms. At the very beginning, he gave an overview of the socio-cultural context of Russian literature during Silver Age (at the turn of 19th and 20th Century), literature during Soviet Union period (after the 1920s) as well as literature after the collapse of Soviet Union.
Later, Prof. Kormilov analyzed the works written by Gorky who had just cut a figure then, and works by Chekhov, a master of literature in the beginning of 20th Century. Besides, Prof. Kormilov also elaborated on the writings of Blok, Gumilyov, Akhmatova and Mayakovsky, who were the representative writers of symbolism, Acmeism and futurism in Russian modernist literature.
Then, Prof. Kormilov gave his own interpretation of Russian intellectuals who made up the majority of writers. He not only defined “Russian intellectuals” and introduced their evolution from aristocratic intellectuals to civilian intellectuals, but also expounded on the interconnection between the evolution of intellectuals and the course of Russian literature in the 20th Century. Moreover, Prof. Kormilov introduced Russian literature in the 20th Century according to different themes and types, such as “countryside literature (or native-soil literature)”, “war literature” and “urban literature”, and gave a detailed and unique interpretation of works by representative writers of different types, including Rasputin, Solzhenitsyn and Sholokhov. As a world-famous literature theorist, Prof. Kormilov laid emphasis on the combination of literary theories with criticism, and was able to conduct a comparative study on the representative writers of the 20th Century and the works by classic writers in the 19th Century, such as Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.
At the end of the lecture, students and teachers present asked Prof. Kormilov questions based on their own research interests and difficulties they had come across during their research, and had an in-depth discussion with him. The whole lecture broadened audience’s horizon, provided rich contents and a warm atmosphere, benefitting students and teachers a lot.
After the lecture, Prof. Kormilov had a panel discussion with the teachers from Institute of Russian Language and Culture on hot research issues on Russian literature and the course of contemporary literature. Prof. Kormilov’s profound literary knowledge and broad academic vision deserve people’s admiration.
Written by Jiang Lei / Photos by Xue Ranran
Institute of Russian Language and Culture
Nov.3rd , 2016
