Soviet culture at the stage of the struggle against fascism: about the work of artists of Leningrad Conservatory in the Uzbek SSR in the early period of the Great Patriotic War (1941–1942)

The publication examines certain aspects of the activities carried out by Leningrad Order of Lenin State Conservatory in the early years of the Great Patriotic War. The relevance of the topic is dictated by the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet state in the confrontation with Germany and its allies, as well as the ongoing special military operation. The beginning of the fight against fascism in higher educational institution coincided with the traditional summer examination session. What changed in the work of the Conservatory administration and teachers as well as in the studies of students and graduate students in connection with the German attack? Where and how did the music institution function during the city blockade? The purpose of the study is to identify the main transformations in the organizational, creative and educational activities of the conservatory, as well as those in military patronage work related to the beginning and course of the war against fascism (1941–1942). Materials and methods. The author uses chronological and problem-analytical methods. The source base of the research is based on archival materials. Results. With the beginning of the German invasion to the Soviet Union and the front’s approach to Leningrad in summer and autumn of 1941, by decision of the authorities many large cultural and art objects were moved from the city to the country’s regions remote from the theater of military operations. This process of organized transportation of people, institutions, and businesses from one area to another is called “evacuation”. The Leningrad State Conservatory turned out to be one of the first evacuated institutions under the jurisdiction of the Department of Arts. In August 1941, this higher musical educational institution was relocated from Leningrad, where it had been continuously operating since its foundation in Imperial St. Petersburg in 1861, to one of the centers for moving similar organizations from all over the country – the Central Asia. The conservatory began the new academic year under evacuation conditions in the largest city in the region, Tashkent, the capital of the Uzbek SSR. From autumn of 1941 to autumn of 1942, in addition to conducting the educational process with students and postgraduates, the institution organized almost a thousand concerts, primarily in hospitals and military units of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. At the same time, increased attention was paid to work in the units of the Central Asian Military District. At the same time, large concert brigades were created, traveling to the front; they formed from among teachers and students, as well as the Uzbek SSR artists. Students of the Conservatory performed in labor collectives during the construction of the Northern Tashkent Canal. On June 22, 1942, the Conservatory Symphony Orchestra performed D.D. Shostakovich’s famous 7th Symphony in Tashkent. Some of the conservatory’s teachers and students remained in Leningrad in the fall of 1941 and continued their work and studies under siege, while many musicians joined the army and the People’s militia. In September 1942, the pre-war naval faculty of the educational institution was recreated in Tashkent from among the cadets of the Conservatory who survived the battles near Leningrad. Conclusions. During the Great Patriotic War, such a social phenomenon as “mobilization of Soviet culture” took place in the cultural space of the country. Its essence was that, along with a number of the most important state institutions, cultural and artistic institutions, including educational institutions that trained personnel for them, were transferred to work in wartime conditions. In particular, in Leningrad, for this purpose, the process of evacuating the leading organizations in this sphere of life from the city was launched, primarily to the eastern regions of the country, where they continued their activities. Along with this among them there were not only famous Leningrad theaters, but also lesser-known musical institutions, which included, for example, the Leningrad Conservatory. Since September 1941, the higher educational institution turned out to be divided into two parts. Most of the staff left for the Uzbek SSR, but a group of teachers and students remained in Leningrad. In the context of moving to Tashkent, the conservatory was characterized by significant changes in all types of activities. At this, along with traditional training of specialists in musical professions, including military conductors, military patronage work in the interests of cultural services for the Red Army soldiers, political workers and the Red Army commanders took an important place in the conservatory’s practice in 1941–1942. Thus concert brigades created at the conservatory traveled from Tashkent to the front. A special place in the staff’s creative activity was occupied by the performance of D.D. Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony by the Conservatory Symphony Orchestra on the first anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, which became its third performance in the USSR.