The Last Avant-garde Phenomenon in Russian Modernization: OBERIU (A Diary of OBERIU)

Abstract

OBERIU, for the Russian literature at the threshold of the 20th century when the modernization process took place in culture and the art world, is the symbol of the end of an era and actually the beginning of Stalin's dictatorship in literature by the demolition of innovative and liberal sense of art. As the last bright example of avant-garde movements in the Silver Age, OBERIU, existed for less than three years between 1927 and 1930, and left no artwork except his common manifesto. However, Kharms, better known for his miniature prose and plays than his poems, became the leading representative of the group most of whose members were young poets who came together with the aim of conveying the realities of the period with their turns of phrase which drew inspiration from their original talent. Kharms who made use of parody, absurd dialogues and elements of the grotesque, conveyed the essence of Theater of the Absurd, which was discovered late by Western European theater, in his play Yelizaveta Bam. Children’s writings, in which representatives of OBERIU took refuge as an escape, are still distinguished examples of this area. In this article, conditions under which OBERIU emerged and were tried to be erased from history, and its representatives, manifesto, principles and sense of art are studied

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