The Astrakhan Section of the RSFSR Union of Writers and the USSR Literary Fund, 1963-1965: The First Attempt at Interaction

The Astrakhan section of the RSFSR Union of Writers and the Astrakhan section of the USSR Literary Fund were organized in October– November 1963.This article examines their joint work to provide financial assistance to professional writers of the Astrakhan region from funds received from the budget of the USSR Literary Fund. The article focuses on their interaction with the central bureaucratic apparatus of the USSR Literary Fund in late 1963 – early 1965. The concept of “literary life” developed by B.M. Eikhenbaumisused as a theoretical basis in the article. Archival documents make it possible to study this interaction in detail. They also make it possible to determine how the personal qualities of the poet N.G. Polivin, who headed the Branch of the RSFSR Union of Writers, and the prose writer A.T. Garkusha, who headed the Astrakhan Branch of the USSR Literary Fund influenced this interaction. The very first year of this interaction showed that Polivin and Garkusha had no propensity for administrative work and no practical experience in accounting. In addition, they underestimated the importance of establishing official relations with senior officials of the USSR Literary Fund, and this was fraught with difficulties and obstacles both in providing financial assistance for creative official trips and in providing financial support to Astrakhan writers.