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Translation in Ukraine During the Stalinist Period: Literary Translation Policies and Practices

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Translation Under Communism

Abstract

This chapter offers a general overview of the field of literary translation in Soviet Ukraine from the early 1920s until the mid-1950s. It briefly discusses the theoretical trends and practical achievements in translating Western and Russian authors. The discussion focuses on the reasons behind the selection of certain source-language texts and authors; the scope and quality of translations; the sociological and aesthetic analysis of translated works by the best critics of that time; and the dynamics and general tendencies in translation strategies, viewed from the perspective of the history of communism. The Stalinist regime is shown to have attempted to regulate literary expression in translated books, including not only the textual choices and source language, but even the translation methods. The campaign against ‘nationalistic wrecking’ in translation is shown to have triggered a high number of relay translations as well as retranslations and revisions in order to bring the translated texts closer to Russian.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

    Oleksandr Kalnychenko

  2. Institute of Philology, Taras Shevchenko National University, Kyiv, Ukraine

    Lada Kolomiyets

Authors
  1. Oleksandr Kalnychenko
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  2. Lada Kolomiyets
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Correspondence to Oleksandr Kalnychenko .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bologna, Forlì, Italy

    Christopher Rundle

  2. Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

    Anne Lange

  3. Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

    Daniele Monticelli

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Kalnychenko, O., Kolomiyets, L. (2022). Translation in Ukraine During the Stalinist Period: Literary Translation Policies and Practices. In: Rundle, C., Lange, A., Monticelli, D. (eds) Translation Under Communism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79664-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79664-8_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-79664-8

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