Albert Maltz and Raisa Orlova, 1960s–1970s

• Main Author: Olga I. Shcherbinina
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature 2020-06-01
• Series: Литература двух Америк
• Subjects: a. maltz; the ussr; r. orlova; soviet-american contacts; huac; literary reputation; international literature; foreign literature; dissidents; marxism; m. shulman; a. solzhenitsyn.
• Online Access: http://litda.ru/images/2020-8/LDA-2020-8_171-234_Shcherbinina.pdf
• ISSN: 2541-7894; 2542-243X

In the focus of attention – a collection of Albert Maltz’s letters to Raisa Orlova deposited in the funds of the Russian State Archive of Literature and Arts (RGALI). A brief review of Maltz’s biography allows to trace back the origins of his loyalty to the USSR which manifested itself in many ways. Being a member of John Reed’s Club and actively publishing his articles on aesthetics in the leftwing magazine New Masses, Maltz ended up serving criminal punishment for subversive anti-American activities. At the peak of McCarthyism hysteria, he was almost labeled as a Soviet spy. Soviet editorial policies towards Maltz’s novels and short stories provide conclusive evidence that literary critics in the USSR had a keen interest in his works and continued to treat him as a friend of the Soviet Union – a fact that seems exceptional against the background of the Cold War outbreak. Maltz’s relationships with Soviet Russia climaxed in his journey to Moscow when he intended to discuss some alarming political trends. At that time he got to know prominent Soviet figures who challenged his attitude to Stalinism and Soviet socialism. In the letters to Orlova Maltz mentions some facts about his work and life which he presented to the Oral History Project delivered by California University. At the same time, his correspondence features exclusive opinions on a number of matters which he did not voice publicly until late 1970s.