Perfect calendars in chaotic times

• Author / Creator

  Shilova, Irina

• This dissertation focuses on the literary and media texts pertaining to the calendar reform introduced by the Bolshevik government after the October Revolution in 1917, and the establishment of specifically Soviet calendar in 1917-1929. The careful examination of the texts reveals a particularly salient feature of the new calendar, namely, its chaotic nature. Drawing on Paul Recoeur’s theory of narrative as an exclusively human method of comprehending reality, this study investigates the phenomenon of calendrical narrative in its social and private aspects. Chapter 1 reconstructs the political and ideological context of the historical period employing materials from the two leading Soviet newspapers, Pravda and Izvestiia, and, more specifically, those articles which promote the new Soviet vision of holidays and the ritual calendar as a whole. Chapter 2 deals with Vladimir Mayakovsky’s vision of time as man’s enemy and his construction of a “perfect” calendar for the future. Chapter 3 examines Mikhail Bulgakov’s interpretation of the Christian ritual calendar as a message to ordinary people explaining the moral virtues of Christ, as well as those literary devices he employed highlighting the importance of this message to society and the individual.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Bulgakov
  • Mayakovsky
  • Russian Literature
  • Calendar

• Graduation date

  Fall 2010

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R33M68

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.