Mikhail Kuzmin's Circle and the Creation of unofficial literature in Leningrad in the Latter Part of the 20th Century

The literary reputation and creativity of M.A. Kuzmin has been determined to be influential on the unofficial Leningrad culture of the second half of the 20th century, such as works by L.L. Rakov, V.N. Petrov, A.N. Egunov, and others. The analysis of the texts shows that Kuzmin has a shared creative tradition with close friends and young people. Based on the analysis of their texts and the practice of their transmission, the article concludes that these writers formed a kind of emotional community, a bonded memory of Kuzmin, and knowledge of the crucial texts of the elder poet. Many works of Egunov, Petrov, and Rakov of this kind are “coded” by one text or another or by Kuzmin’s method. In turn, Kuzmin’s young friends in the second half of the 20th century themselves take on the role of “masters,” allowing practices, texts, and pre-revolutionary literary culture that support the following representatives, philologists, poets, and writers of the 1950s–1960s. The figure and texts of Kuzmin in these years form a different, unofficial literature, being perceived by authors who are looking for an alternative to Soviet culture. The structure of Kuzmin’s cult was shaped by historical and cultural factors following his demise. For many years, the topics that have been advancing on the periphery of Kuzmin’s work allow us to raise the question of the real influence of Kuzmin’s personality and creativity on the literary culture and literary process of the 20th century.