Ilya Ehrenburg and Italian Intellectuals: Letters and Translations (Based on RGALI Documents)

The article studies the relations between Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg and Italian left intellectuals, focusing on the process of translation and publishing of his books in Italy. The study is based on the analysis of Ehrenburg’s correspondence with editor Giulio Einaudi and translators Pietro Zveteremich and Georgy Kraisky. We also analyze Italian reception of Ehrenburg’s work on the basis of publications in left press. The study covers the “Thaw” period, when Ehrenburg was one of the best known Soviet authors abroad. The publishing of his books is considered in wide political and cultural context: we study the reasons for the popularity of Soviet literature among Italian intellectuals, consider the competition among editors for the right to translate and publish the books of the most famous authors and the consequences of that rivalry (the importance of personal relations between Soviet and Italian intellectuals in cultural interaction, “double” translations, attempts to republish some highly popular books). The correspondence analyzed in the present study shows, how the mentioned factors infl uenced the process of publishing books by Ehrenburg in Italy. The letters of left intellectuals and the responses of the Soviet author give precious information on the Italian publication of such books as “The Thaw”, “The Extraordinary Adventures of Julio Jurenito”, “People, Years, Life”, and throw some light on the mechanisms of cultural interaction between Italy and the USSR.