The Explosive Nature and Apocalypse of the Russian Avant-Garde: Futurism vs. Bolshevism

This article aims to examine the factors contributing to the “explosive” (in accordance with Juri Lotman’s theory) but the brief flourishing of the avant-garde in Russian culture. Furthermore, it seeks to demonstrate that the apocalyptic vision of old Russia encompassed not only societal transformation but also the demise of avant-garde poetics in post-revolutionary Russia. Paradoxically, while the early Soviet avant-garde presented itself as a revolutionary political and aesthetic movement, Bolsheviks maintained a dismissive attitude towards Futurists and the LEF group. In Literature and Revolution Leon Trotsky asserted that futurism is no less a product of the poetic past. This disconnect suggests divergent interpretations of “revolution” and “revolutionary” between Bolsheviks and Futurists. Boris Groys emphasizes that the October Revolution was more traditional than avant-garde aesthetics, positioning the avant-garde as counter-revolutionary art.