Coming fresh off the heels of the discussion about the transformation of Soviet Propaganda, the harsh criticisms of Stalin and the regime that was abducting and dispatching political prisoners left and right stood in stark contrast to the glorification of that same regime we observed in the posters. While writing may not seem to be propagandistic at first glance, the vivid imagery used in Mandelstam’s We Live Without Feeling evokes a negative impression of the forces in power.
We Live Without Feeling is a devastating poem that highlights the terrors that were enacted in order to maintain a political status quo, eliminating anyone who spoke out and disagreed with the party. The purpose was to cut at the notion of a morally superior leader, which Stalin relied on in order to maintain the admiration and respect of his people. By portraying the Stalin and his hitmen in an explicitly negative light, Mandelstam thus delegitimized Stalin’s position as a morally sound leader.
The explicit criticism of the party and thus Stalin were the depictions of him as a worm-fingered, cockroach-eyed jackbooted despot. This was meant as a counter to the standard imagery that was usually shown of Stalin, like that one picture of him with the girl whose parents he sent to the gulags that we spoke about in class. Another explicit criticism of Stalin and his regime was the line “every execution is a feast for him,” which was meant to expose and denounce his penchant for the execution of his political prisoners, as well as cast doubts on his portrayal as a loving, caring figurehead of the party. Again, this portrayal as a bloodthirsty maniac was meant to run counter to the state media’s portrayal of Stalin as a father-like figure that everybody should look up to.
Finally, Mandelstam’s use of the phrase “semi-humans” was meant as criticism of the guards who carried out Stalin’s actions, but it also reflected poorly on Stalin, for how could a man of the people associate himself with semi-humans and acts that were so violent and cruel.
Overall, We Live Without Feeling was a strong, piercing piece of propaganda that opposed the positive portrayals of Stalin and his regime, instead hitting on the cruelty and hypocrisy of appearance that was rampant under Stalin
Something i found interesting was the contrast of the thick fingers of the “kremlin mountaineers” compared to the thin necked leaders that surround him. I didn’t know what a kremlin was so I searched it up and apparently it was a religious/princely citadel before the soviet era, but it soon became the residence of both Lenin and Stalin. However this is interesting as I’m sure that they’re the leaders that are being mentioned. However I wonder who the mountaineer is and what relevance mountaineering has with all of this.
Mandelstam’s fate is something tragic, and almost unavoidable to think about in context with this poem. I get this sad sense when I read, of this want to elevate Russia and love his country’s rich history and culture, but a sadness at what is happening with Stalin and the current repressive regime. Here, as with many other writers of this period, as Mandelstam uses the term “semi-humans” you get a large sense that he also believes that creators of this time were forced to be “semi-artists” unable to speak truth to the culture around them.
This is a very interesting situation that is brought up in the time period. The fact that the poets and artists were essentially risking their life by writing these works is very powerful to me. I did not get the sense of sadness when I read it but it is interesting that you did. The overall power and ruthlessness of Stalin was greatly emphasized in this work. This is the main point I found that Gabe also pointed out.
In the excerpt from Nadezhda Mandelstam’s memoir, she recounts the time when her husband was taken by the secret police. She recalls his worry for the discovery of “We Live Without Feeling” by the secret police and that being the reason for his arrest. As what was discussed in class, Osip made sure to share only with close, trusted friends. However, one of these friends notified the Cheka. One thing that is so striking about this poem is its blunt message of disapproval for Stalin. Given the high risk of death for such a piece, why would he write it?
I think this sums it up pretty well:
“The fear that goes with the writing of verse has nothing in common with the fear one experiences in the presence of the secret police. Our mysterious awe in the face of existence is always overridden by the more primitive fear of violence and destruction. M. often spoke of how the first kind of fear had disappeared with the Revolution that had shed so much blood before our eyes”(85).
It is truly striking how Mandelstam literally risked his life writing this. To criticize Stalin was essentially giving yourself a death sentence. However, like you said, Gabe, this portrayal was to counter the “friendly” Stalin that was being portrayed in other propaganda. Describing Stalin’s henchmen as semi-human was very powerful in this piece of propaganda. Rather than portraying Stalin’s victims as semi-human, it was Stalin himself that was associated with the semi-human.
I was interested in your idea that the poem serves, above all else, to attack an image of Bolshevism. Indeed, I felt the same way about the poem. It was not actually attacking the ideological wrongness of Stalin regime, but rather fights the mystique around him. And it doesn’t do it by humanizing Stalin to counteract his almost divine representation is mainstream propaganda, but rather makes him into something else entirely. I was reminded of “Heart of The Dog” in a way. You site how the poem uses bestial imagery and I think that was very clever. Indeed, I think there is a profound theme in anti Soviet messaging- that the Stalanists are in fact animals.
Excellent points, all! I particularly like how Sophie zeroes in on the way Mandelstam uses the epithet “semi-human” and Ethan then goes on to link it to the bestial imagery in the poem and to Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog”! Also Shandiin, thank you for bringing in that incredibly powerful passage from Nadezhda Mandelstam’s memoir which speaks to the incredible moral courage of these poets in the face of such cruelty and terror.