Noah's Ark

Znamya magazine reported on twenty years of freedom

“Znamya” celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary with mentions of the glorious date in each issue (The Anniversary Year continues: we have accomplished such and such feats...) , a nice party for favorite authors and the release of a voluminous anthology. A similar book was published for the previous round anniversary, five years ago. That one was called “Our Banner”, the current one is called “New Banner”; then a successful attempt was made to provide a summary report on the entire history of the magazine; now the literary monthly of the last two decades is being portrayed. Twenty years ago, in the summer of 1986, Znamya was headed by Grigory Baklanov, and a clearly readable sign of the renewal (liberation) of the magazine was the publication of Alexander Beck’s novel “New Appointment”, extracted from the archive (once banned).

During these twenty free years, a lot of things happened - not only in the country, but also in Znamya. The authors of two columns recall what happened and try to comprehend it. One is familiar from the predecessor anthology: under the general title “Once upon a time in the Banner,” entertaining (and moderately instructive) stories about the editorial board and its authors (they are also the authors of these stories) are collected. First, the texts of the departed (Viktor Astafiev, Tatyana Bek, Yuri Davydov, Evgenia Katseva, Semyon Lipkin, Felix Svetov) are reprinted, then the living writers who managed to tell about their adventures five years ago, then those who, in the corresponding section of “Our Banner” why -or didn't hit. No less fascinating is the latest section - “20 years of freedom”, where 17 dissimilar writers (poets, prose writers, critics) pronounce their golden words (sometimes mixed with tears). Their discord (quite harmonious in its own way) varies the motives of one of the meetings of the Znamensky Discussion Club, the one where the plot “Russia 1991-2001” was discussed. Victories and defeats." Well, in five years the topic has not faded, and the rhetoric has not weakened.

In general, the materials of the Discussion Club rightfully occupy a dominant position in the anthology. “Znamya” is, first of all, a club of liberal writers, where everyone comes with their authoritative (paradoxical, deceitful, dizzying and further on the list) judgment, and the hospitable hosts are heartily pleased with the diversity of opinions, faces, manners and, excuse the expression, “discourses” " I don’t know how similar modern Russian literature is to Noah’s Ark (this problem was examined from all sides in the Discussion Club in 1999 - the discussion has now been republished), but the Znamya magazine is definitely similar to it. In order to be convinced of this, it is not necessary to delve in detail into old disputes (with inevitably repeating and never outdated motives) or the speeches of much different laureates of magazine awards and the Ivan Petrovich Belkin Prize created with the close participation of “Znamya” (although, in general, re-read them all together is now very interesting!) - just look at the flyleaf and endpaper of the anthology, where portraits of forty authors (or potential authors) of the magazine are presented, certainly with the “Banner” in their hands.

Is this path of magazine construction fruitful? Is the most important thing for a timely publication to catch in its network all worthy (attractive, fashionable, charismatic, distinguished, crowned, etc.) writers? At what stage does Noah's Ark turn into the same cart that the Swan, Cancer and Pike once harnessed to? These are non-holiday questions, and I can’t answer them even on weekdays. If I could, I would probably publish a magazine. And, probably, he would not have done it exactly like the Znamen people. But I can’t. That’s why I’m afraid to give advice, as well as to predict a “bright future.” Although the collection of such prophecies (elegantly disguised recommendations for the organization of literature in general and the Znamya magazine in particular), presented in the “Soothsayer” section, I read with true pleasure.

What, however, can I say about the entire book - about memories, discussions, speeches. And, of course, about the “Poetry Anthology”, which included 23 poems - one each from 23 outstanding poets. And if “New Banner” does not present artistic prose, then it is a sin to forget: the best examples of it at the turn of the millennium were published in the jubilee magazine. Without wanting to rank the prose writers currently working, I will name the works of writers who are no longer with us: “The General and His Army” by Georgy Vladimov, “So I Want to Live” by Viktor Astafiev, “Bestseller” by Yuri Davydov, “A Darkness Falls on the Old Steps” by Alexander Chudakov... Even just these four names are enough to recognize the enormous role of the new - free - “Banner” in the history of Russian literature, to push aside all doubts and bewilderments and sing a hymn to our ark.

Andrey NEMZER