Svetlana Aleksievich’s Nobel Prize for literary talent and the fearless quest for truth

STOCKHOLM. October 8, 2015 Svetlana Aleksievich - laureate of the literary Nobel Prize for creativity, which allowed to hear the truth about courage, suffering and freedom

The news of the long-awaited award was met without the standard in such a situation verbal fireworks and invitations to the near-cultural TV gatherings. This applies mainly to those parts of the land where the language of her books is understood without translation. Attempts to present the verdict of the Nobel Committee exclusively by a politicized decision are unsuccessful. Aleksievich’s works are an alloy of high artistry and piercing documentary, an attempt to find the truth and make it the property of all. No matter how silent it is, and no matter how terrible and uncomfortable it may be. All her confessional books are a vaccine from unconsciousness, which laid the road to degeneration. Aleksievich talks about the Great Patriotic and Afghan Wars, the tragedy of Chernobyl, the turning points of history and the phenomenon of “homo sovietikus” through the prism of personal, innermost. From frank and piercing stories, truth is born. Her last works are dedicated to those who are surviving now, learning to be free and be responsible for their own lives, without appealing to the powers that be. The path to a new one is very long, and the rivers of ignorance (S. Averintsev), when building bridges over them, can change their course. But slave psychology is contraindicated in development. Exaggerated by other characters, the thought of the beneficial effects of suffering in connection with the end of well-fed times is an attempt to shift the vector of social consciousness in a dead end direction. Instead of thoughtful and incredibly complex work on oneself, it is easier to surrender to obscurantism, yearn for a strong hand and see enemies in those who are not them. The dehumanization and thinning of the cultural layer in conditions of conscious isolation is much faster. The millions of copies of Aleksievich’s books are a materialized guarantee that humanistic principles, the pursuit of freedom and truth, which she preaches, find support among many people. It is hopeful.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru