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Please join the upcoming Slavic Colloquium talk entitled "Rogues and Writers: The Picaresque Episode in Soviet Literature" by Dr. de Oliveira (Associate Professor of Russian, Portland State University).

What is picaresque literature, and how and why did it manifest in the Soviet Union between the wars? This talk explains how the picaresque—and along with it the figure of the rogue as its protagonist—reflected, but also complicated, the everyday experience of Soviet citizens as they embarked, willingly or not, upon the creation of the world's first communist state. With its narratives of adventure, travel to far-flung regions, the criminal underworld, and embezzlement schemes, the Soviet picaresque exploits the contradictions of the Soviet project.