“Censoring biography” of Leonid Andreev: revolutionist and godseeker
The research considers the censorship policy in relation to works by Leonid Andreev in the period from 1902 to 1912, and based on previously unpublished documents of the Main Directorate Of Press of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the St. Petersburg Committee and the Central Committee of Foreign Censorship subordinate to it. It is concluded that most of the works, which were analyzed from the point of interaction with censorship institutions were persecuted by it within the framework of two “general directions” - the fight against revolutionary agitation and the fight against blasphemy. It is noted that the conclusions of the censorship often contradicted the decisions of the executive branch. Censorship criticism of Leonid Andreev is considered in the context of the literary process of the early 20th century, since the motives of the author’s work were consonant to the literary and philosophical trends that developed at that time.