Ivan Vandov

I am not aware of any other publication that has been made that was conceived and carried out by the small team of Stoyko Bozhkov, Stoyan Stoimenov and Hristo Dudevski. To search for numerous publications and documents relating to the penetration, spread and influence of Soviet literature in Bulgaria from the October Revolution to September 9, 1944, to organize the writing of memoirs by writers, cultural figures, book publishers, distributors and ordinary readers of Soviet books - this is a truly difficult task, but it turned out to be within the power of the three compilers and editors. First of all, it should be emphasized that they had set themselves a real and useful task. Real - because all three have the work of Soviet literature and Bulgarian-Soviet literary ties close to their hearts and have solid direct practical and research experience in this area. And mainly - because our history itself really offers a lot of material. And yet, it was inevitable that the implementation of the task would involve attention and effort for nearly 14 years - such a large volume of research, collection and editorial work had to be carried out. The two-volume collection "Soviet Literature in Bulgaria - 1918-1944" covers the penetration, distribution and influence not only of artistic and literary creation, but of Soviet literature in general - ideological (historical, philosophical, economic, aesthetic, pedagogical), natural science, etc. In addition, its scope partially includes the distribution and influence in Bulgaria of works of Soviet cinematography, music, theater, fine arts.

I do not hesitate in the title and in the following lines to qualify Vasil Kolevski's book "The Pathos of October (Soviet Literature in the Bulgarian Proletarian and Anti-Fascist Literary Press 1917-1943)" in this way, because the work done by the author, dedicated to an important issue of literary relations between the Soviet Union and Bulgaria, whatever its shortcomings, is at a scientific level and testifies to a certain knowledge of the material and problems, to a conscientious and close attitude to a not so easy task. During the bourgeois-fascist dictatorship in our country, the proletarian and anti-fascist literary press was almost the only place where Soviet literary-theoretical and aesthetic thought and the artistic and literary production of Soviet writers could be presented and evaluated more fully or more mutilatedly - depending on the behavior of the censorship - and where at the same time their influence on our communist literary thought and practice found expression. Therefore, it is quite natural, when developing the topic of Soviet literature in Bulgaria, that the researcher's attention should be directed primarily to progressive newspapers and magazines.