The 1963 publication of E.A. Evtušenko’s autobiography in French and English translations was an event of literary and political significance. Soviet writers, critics, and party workers erupted with these publications and called Evtušenko a “traitor” and a “misinterpreter of Soviet reality.”

This Russian edition appeared under the title Avtobiografija. Evtušenko called his original Primečanija k avtobiografii (“Remarks to an Autobiography”).

Much of what appears in his autobiography would have been anticipated from a reading of Evtušenko’s poetry. His disillusionment with the Stalin regime especially in the fields of literature and the arts leaves no doubt. In this period, he states, “Many Soviet writers failed to write about their personal thoughts, about their own complexities or conflicts, and needless to say, about the conflicts and complexities of others.” As a rule in order for their poetry to be published they were forced to write a few lines devoted to Stalin. Evtušenko questions this and labels it as evil.

Robert Vlach
University of Oklahoma