Mikhail Zoshchenko (1895 - 1958) is regarded as perhaps the greatest practitioner of satire in the Soviet Union - although the practice of satire as a genre was gradually discouraged, and led to difficulties with the authorities in the later part of Zoshchenko's life. Zoshchenko is best known for his very short stories, which focus on amusing incidents - they are almost like extended "anekdoty" (jokes). He often uses a narrator whose speech is peppered with the slang, acronyms and odd expressions of the new Soviet society.

Yuri Olesha (1899 - 1960) is best known for his novel Envy (1926), which dramatizes the conflict between romantic individualists and the new, increasingly mechanized and conformist, Soviet society. His short stories illustrate the dilemmas of a dreamer in a "rationalist" culture.

Both of these writers fell afoul of Soviet cultural authorities in the 1930's, when the experimentation tolerated in the 20's was a thing of the past, and the State demanded adherence to the model of Socialist Realism (uplifting stories about tractor drivers and industrial workers whose dedication to the Party is unimpeachable). But beyond their aesthetic or formal experimentation, Zoshchenko and Olesha both give portraits of Soviet society that are concerned with illustrating the truths of human character more than with flattering authorities or conforming to the "party line."

As you read these stories, consider the following questions:

What makes Zoshchenko's stories funny? Note a particular example that you find successful.

One of the reviewers of "Bed and Sofa" commented that "Meshchanstvo [bourgeois, middle-class values] is everywhere in our Soviet daily life..." Where is the "bourgeois" in Zoshchenko's characters' lives?

Why would Olesha's heroes NOT be ideal Soviet citizens?

What is the role of nature in Olesha's stories?

What about these stories would "irk" authorities?