ABSTRACT
Alexei Peshkov, a.k.a. Maksim Gorky became the virtual poet laureate of the Soviet Union and something like an institution. Gorky's literary merits and demerits have been discussed in considerable detail during his lifetime and after. He figures prominently in the recollection of contemporaries, friends and enemies alike. Gorky's sympathies were with the left from the very beginning of his literary career. In 1921 Lenin advised Gorky in friendly fashion to move to Italy, given his weakened constitution, and the difficult living conditions in Russia. Gorky welcomed the proposal; since the State Bank was to cover his expenses abroad, it meant that he was from now on largely financially dependent on the Soviet government. Gorky became a virtual prisoner, a fact noted even by Romain Rolland, not one of the world's most astute political observers. Then he wanted to travel to Italy in 1933, the request was refused, and Gorky's secretary kept him in virtual isolation.
