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Новое назначение
Neuvostoliiton tunnetuimpiin kirjailijoihin lukeutuva, jo klassikon aseman saavuttanut Alexander Bek - "Volokolamskin valtatien" maineikas tekijä - on saanut haltuunsa Neuvostoliiton entisen hallituksen jäsenen muistiinpanot ja päiväkirjat, joiden pohjalta hän on kirjoittanut vaikuttavan dokumenttiromaanin. "Uskollisuuden mitta" valottaa ensimmäistä kertaa Kremlin hallituskoneistoa Stalinin aikana neuvostoliittolaisesta näkökulmasta.
Kirjan päähenkilö, ministeri Aleksandr Onisimov on tehokas, kuriin tottunut teknokraatti, joka pitää kunnia-asianaan että kaikki sujuu hyvin hänen johtamallaan alallla, terästeollisuudessa. Kun Stalinin kuoleman jälkeen hallintoa järjestetään uudelleen, Stalinille ehdottoman uskollisena tunnettu Onisimov ssyrjäytetään ja siirretään lähettilääksi erään Skandinavian maan pääkaupunkiin. Vaikka hän uudessakin tehtävässään yrittää luonteensa mukaisesti täyttää tunnollisesti velvollisuutensa, hänen ajatuksensa askartelevat jatkuvasti menneisyydessä.
"Uskollisuuden mitta" on sekä suuri romaani Stalinin ajasta että herkkä ja dramaattinen kuvaus hallintovirkailijasta ja ihmisestä, erään miehen noususta ja henkisestä murtumisesta aikakauden vaihduttua.
Kirjan päähenkilö, ministeri Aleksandr Onisimov on tehokas, kuriin tottunut teknokraatti, joka pitää kunnia-asianaan että kaikki sujuu hyvin hänen johtamallaan alallla, terästeollisuudessa. Kun Stalinin kuoleman jälkeen hallintoa järjestetään uudelleen, Stalinille ehdottoman uskollisena tunnettu Onisimov ssyrjäytetään ja siirretään lähettilääksi erään Skandinavian maan pääkaupunkiin. Vaikka hän uudessakin tehtävässään yrittää luonteensa mukaisesti täyttää tunnollisesti velvollisuutensa, hänen ajatuksensa askartelevat jatkuvasti menneisyydessä.
"Uskollisuuden mitta" on sekä suuri romaani Stalinin ajasta että herkkä ja dramaattinen kuvaus hallintovirkailijasta ja ihmisestä, erään miehen noususta ja henkisestä murtumisesta aikakauden vaihduttua.
- GenresFiction
207 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1944
2 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Aleksandr Bek
17 books8 followersAlexander Alfredovich Bek (Russian: Александр Альфредович Бек; 3 January 1903 [O.S. 21 December 1902] – 2 November 1972), sometimes transliterated from the Russian Cyrillic as Aleksandr Bek or Anglicized to Alexander Beck, was a Soviet novelist and writer.
Alexander Bek was born on 3 January 1903. The son of a physician employed by the Imperial Russian Army, Bek received an upbringing in his native city of Saratov, where he attended a Realschule.
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the outbreak of the Russian Civil War between the Red and White movements, he joined the Bolsheviks' Red Army as a sixteen-year old volunteer and began contributing articles to the army's divisional newspaper in 1919. His first novel, Kurako, completed in honor of the outstanding Soviet metallurgical worker Mikhail Kurako and set down following the impressions left on Bek after a visit to the town of Kuznetsk, was published in 1934. Several other works in the style of socialist realism were written during the 1930s.
Bek returned for duty in the Soviet Army during World War II, in which he witnessed the Soviet defense of Moscow in 1941 and served as a war correspondent. He produced one of his life's most famous works, Volokolamsk Highway («Волоколамское шоссе»), in 1944, depicting the heroism of Moscow’s defenders. He witnessed the surrender of Nazi Germany in World War II in Berlin the following year.
The more famous of Bek's 1950s and 1960s works included the Several Days («Несколько дней») and General Panfilov's Reserve («Резерв генерала Панфилова»), both of which appeared in 1960, as well as the 1956 Talent (The Life of Berezhkov) («Талант (Жизнь Бережкова)»), which appeared in English as Berezhkov - The Story Of An Inventor and was based on the real life of a specialist involved in the Soviet automobile industry.
Bek's 1965 novel The New Appointment was written as a roman à clef centered around Soviet politician Ivan Tevosian, who under Joseph Stalin's period as head of the Soviet Union had been appointed to play a key role in heading the Soviet metallurgical production. Despite the initial announcement of the book's publication in the pages of Novy Mir, the novel was not published in the Soviet Union until the 1986 –in large part as a result of the protests of Tevosian's widow, who complained that the work unfairly discussed the more private aspects of her late husband's life. Accordingly, The New Appointment first appeared in Frankfurt am Main in 1972.
Bek died on 2 November 1972 in Moscow.
Alexander Bek was born on 3 January 1903. The son of a physician employed by the Imperial Russian Army, Bek received an upbringing in his native city of Saratov, where he attended a Realschule.
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the outbreak of the Russian Civil War between the Red and White movements, he joined the Bolsheviks' Red Army as a sixteen-year old volunteer and began contributing articles to the army's divisional newspaper in 1919. His first novel, Kurako, completed in honor of the outstanding Soviet metallurgical worker Mikhail Kurako and set down following the impressions left on Bek after a visit to the town of Kuznetsk, was published in 1934. Several other works in the style of socialist realism were written during the 1930s.
Bek returned for duty in the Soviet Army during World War II, in which he witnessed the Soviet defense of Moscow in 1941 and served as a war correspondent. He produced one of his life's most famous works, Volokolamsk Highway («Волоколамское шоссе»), in 1944, depicting the heroism of Moscow’s defenders. He witnessed the surrender of Nazi Germany in World War II in Berlin the following year.
The more famous of Bek's 1950s and 1960s works included the Several Days («Несколько дней») and General Panfilov's Reserve («Резерв генерала Панфилова»), both of which appeared in 1960, as well as the 1956 Talent (The Life of Berezhkov) («Талант (Жизнь Бережкова)»), which appeared in English as Berezhkov - The Story Of An Inventor and was based on the real life of a specialist involved in the Soviet automobile industry.
Bek's 1965 novel The New Appointment was written as a roman à clef centered around Soviet politician Ivan Tevosian, who under Joseph Stalin's period as head of the Soviet Union had been appointed to play a key role in heading the Soviet metallurgical production. Despite the initial announcement of the book's publication in the pages of Novy Mir, the novel was not published in the Soviet Union until the 1986 –in large part as a result of the protests of Tevosian's widow, who complained that the work unfairly discussed the more private aspects of her late husband's life. Accordingly, The New Appointment first appeared in Frankfurt am Main in 1972.
Bek died on 2 November 1972 in Moscow.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 25, 2022
Очень любопытный производственный роман про металлургию на фоне исторических процессов 1930-1959 годов. Написанный во время, когда в Сталина потихоньку начали плевать, но портреты из кабинетов ещё на всякий случай не убирали, роман особенно интересно читать в части про то время, которое одновременно мелькало за окнами и у автора, и у его героев
January 13, 2016
A beautiful novel about duty, professional pride, and change. The context is the upper reaches of the Soviet nomenklatura from the late 1930s through the late 1950s. Stalin is a central figure, if not quite a central character. "The New Appointment" is referenced in Zalotukha's "The Candle," one of my favorite books from 2015, and I thought I'd enjoy a well-written socialist realist novel while hoping the odd background of metallurgy and heavy Soviet industry wouldn't detract too much from the story.
The fact is, the context, and Bek's familiarity with the real Soviet metals industry from top to bottom, make this a riveting book. Read historically, it is an interesting, barely fictional look at the purges of communist cadres in the late 1930s and de-Stalinization later on. However, the afterward in my edition of the novel by Gavriil Popov, an economist and former (at the time future!) mayor of Moscow, makes the argument that the novel is about more: it is about the cost of repressive political regimes generally to freedom and human thriving, and the struggle to break through institutions and people that stand in the way of change.
Beyond the philosophical and political import of the novel, though, it is just beautifully written. The characters are sketched with care and love. They're clearly drawn from real life. The Soviet politician Ivan Tevosian's widow believed Onisimov, the protagonist, was based on her husband, and tried to have the novel suppressed. This seems like a serious mistake to me; while Onisimov is a complex character, I read Bek as having been deeply sympathetic toward him. (Tevosian himself does appear as a character under his own name, and I also sort of believe Bek that the two men are distinct in the novel and in Bek's mind, though there are some parallels between the real Tevosian and the fictional Onisimov.)
The days when a novel about de-Stalinization, heavy industry, and the restructuring of Soviet society could be relevant have certainly passed, and it's unlikely many readers will overlook that context to pick up the book. But for those who give it a chance (and who read Russian--there's no English translation), they will undoubtedly find it rewarding.
The fact is, the context, and Bek's familiarity with the real Soviet metals industry from top to bottom, make this a riveting book. Read historically, it is an interesting, barely fictional look at the purges of communist cadres in the late 1930s and de-Stalinization later on. However, the afterward in my edition of the novel by Gavriil Popov, an economist and former (at the time future!) mayor of Moscow, makes the argument that the novel is about more: it is about the cost of repressive political regimes generally to freedom and human thriving, and the struggle to break through institutions and people that stand in the way of change.
Beyond the philosophical and political import of the novel, though, it is just beautifully written. The characters are sketched with care and love. They're clearly drawn from real life. The Soviet politician Ivan Tevosian's widow believed Onisimov, the protagonist, was based on her husband, and tried to have the novel suppressed. This seems like a serious mistake to me; while Onisimov is a complex character, I read Bek as having been deeply sympathetic toward him. (Tevosian himself does appear as a character under his own name, and I also sort of believe Bek that the two men are distinct in the novel and in Bek's mind, though there are some parallels between the real Tevosian and the fictional Onisimov.)
The days when a novel about de-Stalinization, heavy industry, and the restructuring of Soviet society could be relevant have certainly passed, and it's unlikely many readers will overlook that context to pick up the book. But for those who give it a chance (and who read Russian--there's no English translation), they will undoubtedly find it rewarding.
July 9, 2023
Raamat oli nõukaajal keelatud. Antud välja päris lõpus, vahetult 20. sajandi suurima geopoliitilise katastroofi eel. Saatesõnas oli mainitud seda keelustamist, ja seletatud seda sellega, et raamatus näidati liiga avameelselt Stalini aja probleeme tööstuses vms. Tegelikult oli see raamat keelatud seepärast, et peategelase lesk ei tahtnud, et maailm teaks, milline sitapea tema mees oli. Sest see peategelane - see on lihtsalt kõige hullem munn, keda saab üldse ette kujutada. Aga Bek on teda kujutanud kangelasena, sellise idealistliku nõukogude töökangelasena. Kelle põhilised kangelaslikud jooned olid täiesti talumatud. A la, on mingi metallurgiatehase evakueerimine sõja ajal rinde eest. Ressursse, alates inimestest ja autodest kuni ajani välja on väga napilt (fakk, ma kõlan siin juba nagu mingi nõukogude metallitööstuse apologeet...), aga kuidagimoodi suudetakse tehas lahti võtta ja raudteejaama toimetada. Siis lendab peategelane peale ja hakkab selle eest vastutavat inimest täiesti asjakohatult überpõhjaliku bürokraatiaga lihtsalt nussima. Et kas umbes kõik mingis suuruses poldid on eraldi sorteeritud ja pandud ühte kasti ja sellel kastil on korrektne silt ja selle kasti kohta on olemas korrektselt täidetud aruanne, millel on kõik õiged allkirjad all ja propuskid juures jne jne. Ja siis imestab, et inimesed ei suhtu temasse kuigi sõbralikult. Või okei, võtame argipäeva. Autor kirjeldab seda, kui ükskõikne on peategelane teda ümbritseva suhtes, et tal on ükskõik, mis mööbel ja sisustus on tema kodus või kabinetis, sest ühes ta vaid magab ja teises teeb vaid tööd. Ja et ta ei taha mingit üleliigset butafooriat, nagu vaibad. Ja siis kirjutab sellest, et peategelane nõudis, et ta kabineti parkettpõrand läigiks nagu peegel ja et töölised pidid iga aasta selle vähemalt korra üle lihvima, ja poonida tuli iga nädal vms. Mingi totaalne Gaddafi vaib eksole... aga oh kui ükskõikne teda ümbritseva suhtes. Lugesin ja marutasin, kui kuradima rõve võis olla sellise inimesega koos, st tema alluvuses töötada. Lisaks sellele puges muidugi Stalinile nagu jaksas. Nägi kõiki konkurentidena, kellele kaikaid kodaraisse loopida. Täiesti julmalt rõve raamat, mille peategelane on kordi jälgim tüüp kui mistahes jää ja tule laulu kõige alatum kurjam, kelle pattudeks pole muud kui raskestiseletatav tõmme karusnahksete mütsikeste ja kõverate mõõkade ning lähisugulastest noorte tšikkide urruaukude poole. Selles raamatus on ikka hiiglaslikud mürisevad masinavärgid, mis haaravad oma terasest hammaste vahele sadu inimesi päevas ja mängivad nendega siis samamoodi nagu hiire kätte saanud kodukassid. Lihtsalt aeglane surm aeglase surma pärast...
June 10, 2019
Идеальный советский министр - сегодня характер этого персонажа только раздражает. Все для народа, для страны, но при этом где-же остаются люди, куда девается человечность?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews