ABSTRACT
Over time, the trove of ‘banned’ books emptied out, publications decreased, circulations went down, and literature went into decline. Its impact turned out to be largely illusory. Little by little, literature turned upon itself, while criticism abandoned its lofty mission of enlightenment and returned to its traditional concerns. As for the institution known in Russia as ‘thick literary journals,’ it remained stable for a quarter century, busily adapting to evolving conditions. Endless recriminations that sometimes degenerated into personal insults between ‘patriots’ and ‘democrats’ came to be known as the ‘civil war in literature,’ while belligerent attitudes were termed the ‘barricade mentality.’ Literary figures belonging to this group were not bound by membership; they were, and still are, bound by a sense of unity. The path to compromise was necessitated not by ideological but by economic conditions, and it cut through the proudly pure arthouse and the self-consciously incorporated mass lit.
