Confessions of a Generation: Youth Opinion Poll

The results of a poll conducted by the Institute of Public Opinion of the youth newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda among readers between the ages of 15 and 30, revealing their attitudes toward themselves and their generation. Published in the issues of July 21 and 22, 1961 - slightly abridged.     

East-West Correspondence

I have read your article in the December issue criticizing non-objective art ["Beauty and Distortion," by V. S. Kemenov; the soviet review, December 1961; translated from Sovetskaya Kultura, Sept. 5, 1961]. Your thoughts interest me because I am both a painter and secondary school instructor in crafts. There are many people in both our cultures who would agree with your premise. I happen to be one who does not and consequently am taking this opportunity to communicate with you.     

The Relinquishment of Newborns and Women's Reproductive Rights

This article by People's Artist of the USSR Georgi Tovstonogov, chief director of the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater and a Lenin Prize winner, is the author's summary of his address to a conference of the Leningrad branch of the All-Russian Theatrical Society, called to discuss the problem of artistic expressiveness of productions on a contemporary theme. Sovetskaya Kultura, (Soviet Culture), December 9, 1961.     

Vodka

Three young people from Rostov-on-Don write in to the youth newspaper to voice concern over their city's failure to cope with the problem of public drinking. "The Statistics of Indifference and the Mechanics of Evil," Komsomolskaya Pravda, September 10, 1961. For a viewpoint on the compulsory treatment of chronic alcoholics, see the soviet review, October, 1961.     

Philosophy of Religion: New Perspectives

From a collection of war sketches and stories published in Znamia (Banner), 1961, No. 2.     

A Visit to the USA

A leading Soviet novelist (The Train) and member of the Presidium of the Union of Soviet Writers presents her impressions of a trip to the United States. Literaturnaya Gazeta, January 17, 1961.     

Literature and the Arts

A writer and critic takes a look at trends and fashions in popular Soviet fiction and makes some sharp comments on its quality and depth. Znamya (The Banner), 1961, No. 3; abridged.     

Competition at the Kindergarten Level

An educator describes the harmful effect of competition on pre-school children and asks teachers to call a halt to this practice. Doshkolnoye Vospitaniye (Pre-School Education), 1961, No. 3.     

Social Analysis and Criticism

A criticism of the existentialist concept of man's freedom. Vestnik Istorii Mirovoi Kultury (Journal of the History of World Culture), 1961, No. 5.     

Beauty and Distortion

An art critic's evaluation of the modern painting and sculpture included in the recent French Exhibition in Moscow. Sovetskaya Kultura, September 5, 1961.     

The Physician's Role in Educating the Working People to Scientific Atheism

This report of a conference on atheist education discusses how medical personnel are expected to help in developing a materialist outlook in the course of their work. Voprosy Filosofii (Problems of Philosophy), 1961, No. 4.     

The Esthetics of the Unconscious

A critique of the Western trend of relying on psychoanalytical techniques as the basis for criticism in literature and the arts. Voprosy Literatury, 1961, No. 5.     

Literature and the Arts

The author reviews The Revolutionary Romanticism of Shelley, a critical biography by I. Neupokoeva (Goslitizdat, Moscow, 1959, 470 pp.) which shows the poet as a child of his age and relates his creative output to his social as well as his esthetic views. Literaturnaya Gazeta, 1961, No. 3.     

Let There Be More Enthusiasts Among Students!

The head of Leningrad State University makes a plea for less pedantically academic standards in the higher schools, for searching out the dedicated scientists of tomorrow who may not always be the scholarship students of today. Komsomolskaya Pravda, Nov. 22, 1961; slightly abridged.     

Concepts of Progress in World History

The author discusses several theories of history and argues for the concept of the progressive development of society. Vestnik Akademia Nauk (Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences), 1961, No. 4. Slightly abridged.     

Problems of Cultural Development in Russia

Not satisfied with routine evaluations of critical reactions to his performances, a ranking Soviet actor discusses the artist's responsibility to his audiences, regardless of whether or not the audiences think they are being well served. ("When the Spectator Is Satisfied," Izvestia, March 9, 1961.)     

Social Analysis and Criticism

As automation develops, physical labor becomes more skilled and the cultural and educational level of workers rises. Brain work ceases to be the property of an elite, and social and economic differences gradually disappear in the communist society. Voprosy Filosofii (Problems of Philosophy), 1961, No. 9; slightly abridged.     

Public Participation in Settling Labor Disputes

The role of trade union and public groups in handling dismissals and reinstatements is discussed and examples are given of how this works in practice. Sovetskoye Gosudarstvo i Pravo (Soviet State and Law), 1961, No. 1.     

The Laws on Employment Transfers

An analysis of legal provisions for protecting employees' rights when transferring to other jobs, as well as proposals for changes in the law. Sovetskoye Gosudarstvo i Pravo (Soviet State and Law), 1961, No. 2.