Gorky as an editor of his own texts (exemplified by his sketch V. I. Lenin)

Abstract

The article examines various versions of M. Gorky’s character sketch V. I. Lenin, written in 1924. The sketch is of interest for many reasons. First, it appeared right after the death of the revolutionary leader and laid the foundation of the Lenin myth, actively propagated throughout Soviet history. Second, Gorky portrays Lenin as a larger-than-life personality. The writer thoroughly reworked his sketch following its first publication. Its second edition happened to be twice the original volume, with additional episodes and characters introduced for the first time. The principal methods applied by Gorky include stylistic corrections, expunging of certain fragments, repositioning of paragraphs, and transposition. The article provides numerous examples of alterations and additions in the text. However, considerable modifications driven by the publishers’ demand notwithstanding, the sketch remains essentially unchanged. Gorky’s self-editing was aimed at preserving the concept of Russian history with Lenin as its central figure.