Victor Astafyev – a reporter of Chusovskoy rabochiy (1951–1955)

This paper represents the first examination of Victor Astafyev’s journalistic work produced during his tenure at the Chusovskoy Rabochiy newspaper (1951-1955). The poetic and aesthetic features of the earliest journalistic works are established by analyzing over eighty publications, focusing on the industrial development of the Urals in the early 1950s. The articles under analysis were published in the city newspaper and in the regional press. Initially, Astafyev employed the artistic genre of sketching, which serves as a visual representation of people or events. From autumn 1952 onwards, his mastery of the essay form has progressed to encompass more intricate analytical structures, emphasizing profound investigation into the underlying nature of persons and problems. The analysis reveals that the primary thematic concern was exploring the character of the Soviet citizen, specifically the socialist builder, and their dedication to their labor. Complying with a direct party commission, the fledgling writer at the party-Soviet newspaper produced idealized representations of the laborer, marked by formulaic and repetitive character traits. However, the predetermined and schematic nature of the characterizations is progressively transcended. Despite being bound by the tenets of human representation prevalent in the Soviet press, the writer strives to forge a distinctive narrative style. A template-based newspaper sketch develops into significant artistic and documentary essays.

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