Kulturowy i społeczny portret stiliagów

Pomnik nieznanego stiliagi, Dorosła córka młodego człowieka Wiktora Sławkina

Abstract

A Cultural and Social Portrait of Stilyaga (V. Slavkin, The Monument to the Unknown Stilyaga, The Grown‑up Daughter of the Young Man)

The article presents a cultural and social portrait of the first youth subculture in the Soviet Union. The inspiration for the study of the literary phenomenon of stilyaga were the works of Victor Slavkin: a drama The Grown‑up Daughter of a Young Man and a memoir The Monument to the Unknown Stilyaga. A memoir of Alexey Kozlov and a work of Vasiliy Aksyonov In Search of Melancholy Baby complemented the study. The cultural portrait of stilyaga was based on works from the field of sociology and cultural studies, as well as drafts and articles on the official government stand towards the rebellious youth. The literary portrait of stilyaga is dominated by a romantic, nostalgic vision and a specific idealization of the young years. The image of the subculture, however remote from authenticity, was transferred to other arts: film, musical culture, photography. The article attempts to separate the myth of stilyaga from the facts.