Бакалов

In the extensive activity that G. Bakalov develops for the popularization and establishment of Russian literature in our country, a particularly important place is occupied by the work of N. A. Nekrasov. The Marxist critic has known and loved the poet of Russian revolutionary democracy since early adolescence. He admires his highly ideological art, is inspired by his deep love for the people, by his passionate hatred for their enemies. Like Nekrasov, he values ​​in a literary work above all its ideological content - its connection with life, with the revolutionary ideals of the time.

No one in Bulgaria has contributed as much to the affirmation of the true image of the artist Maxim Gorky, to the correct interpretation of his revolutionary work, as well as to its translation and dissemination, as Georgi Bakalov. From 1901, when he translated and published in Varna the first booklet with Gorky's story "The Pitiful Turk and the Woodpecker", until his death in 1939, he remained a tireless researcher and popularizer of Gorky, and did this with the greatest awareness, breadth and insight. His activity in this field is a true feat. It is enough to recall the case of the translation and dissemination of the novel "Mother" and the translation of almost all of Gorky's plays. I think that in his own development as a Marxist critic and theorist of new literature, his articles on Gorky, along with those on Smirnensky, stand out as the most creative, the most free from vulgar-sociological impurities and sectarian extremes. In both cases, G. Bakalov maintains the creative line, advocates the broad Leninist view and fights against primitive dogmatic concepts. Gorky, as well as Smirnensky, was one of the springs from which Bakalov drew life-giving water for his method, for his critical activity. They helped him to break away from rectilinear ideas and be more artistic, to rely on his critical sense and taste, on his direct contact with art. In addition, Gorky's aesthetic views - his numerous statements about the Russian classics, the cultural heritage and the new Soviet literature - helped Bakalov to free himself from some narrow and sectarian stratifications, from the Plekhanovian mechanistic view and to perceive literary creativity, the historical-literary process with all their dialectical complexity, diversity and specificity. The importance of constant contact with Gorky for the evolution that Bakalov underwent in the 1930s, after overcoming sectarianism, especially for his new attitude towards heritage is undeniable. It is no coincidence that in his famous program article in the second half of the 1930s "Depict the Heroic", most vividly reflecting his new thinking and the decisive urge to break the sectarian shackles, he referred to Gorky, to his call for the creation of heroic art and to examples from his work.

No one in our country has contributed so much to revealing the true face of the great Gorky, to the correct interpretation of his revolutionary work, to its translation and popularization, as Georgi Bakalov. For nearly forty years he has been his tireless translator and passionate critic, editor and publisher. This multifaceted and diverse activity of Bakalov has been the subject of research more than once in our country, and recently in the Soviet Union. Very rich and new material was presented in their articles and works by A. Todorov, 105 St. Karakostov, Zh. Avdzhiev, Iv. Tsvetkova, the Soviet Bulgarian scholars V. Zlidnev and L. Erikhonov.