Russian Association of Proletarian Writers

The Russian Association of Proletarian Writers, also known under its transliterated abbreviation RAPP (Russian: Российская ассоциация пролетарских писателей, РАПП) was an official creative union in the Soviet Union established in January 1925.[1]

Among its stated purposes was "to scourge and chastise" in the name of the Party", i.e., effectively encouraging censorship of literature on ideological grounds. It became notorious for its enthusiastic attacks on writers who failed to fit the RAPP's definition of the "true Soviet writer", which have eventually earned criticism from the leadership of the Bolshevik party.[1] Among its first targets were Yevgeny Zamyatin and Boris Pilnyak[2] and both pro and anti-Bolshevik writers were targeted, notably including Mikhail Bulgakov, Maxim Gorki, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Alexey Tolstoy.

The administration of RAPP consisted of a number of Soviet writers and literary critics. Among them were Leopold Averbakh (founder and general secretary), Vladimir Kirshon, Dmitry Furmanov, Alexander Fadeyev, Alexei Selivanovskiy, Vladimir Stavsky, Yuri Libedinskiy and others.

In April 1932 RAPP, together with other creative unions, such as Proletkult VOAPP, and Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians, was disbanded, and the USSR Union of Writers was established instead.

References
  1. "RAPP", in Russian Literary Encyclopedia (1929-1939) (in Russian)
  2. "Understanding Boris Pasternak, Larissa Rudova (1997) ISBN 1-57003-143-6, p. 64


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