Aleksandr Zinov’ev, Zapad [The West]

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Zinoviev’s book

Zapad

contains his first “full-length” treatment of the West, analogous in scope to his

Kommunizm kak real’nost’

. Despite his oft-proclaimed dispassionate, objective, scientific approach to the study of sociological phenomena, one cannot help noticing a certain “predisposition” in the case of both books. The first edition of

Kommunizm kak real’nost’

carried a Zinoviev cartoon on its front cover depicting two rats with their tails tied together simultaneously shaking each other by the hand and by the throat. Similarly,

Zapad

on its front cover carries a Zinoviev cartoon depicting a rather haggish Statue of Liberty with her right hand clenched in the Russian equivalent of the “two-fingered salute”. Moreover, the subtitle of

Zapad

is

fenomen zapadnizma.

A…

1440 words

Citation: Kirkwood, Michael. "Zapad". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 November 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23602, accessed 21 November 2024.]

23602 Zapad 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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