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MOSCOW, Oct. 3An excerpt from the work “The Summer of the Lord” by Ivan Shmelev should be included in the school curriculum for grades 8-9 to show the life of Orthodox pre-revolutionary Russia, said the winner of the Patriarchal Literary Prize, writer Vladimir Malyagin.
Literary readings dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the writer, publicist and Orthodox thinker Ivan Shmelev will be held on Tuesday in Moscow at the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“An excerpt from Shmelev’s “Summer of the Lord,” I believe, can be included in the school educational program for grades 8-9. It is not necessary to place much emphasis on it, but we must show children the literary diversity so that they become acquainted with the life of Orthodox pre-revolutionary Russia.” , — said Malyagin.
According to the writer, Shmelev “was erased from Soviet reality” and remains underestimated. “Meanwhile, one of his main stories, “The Man from the Restaurant,” is at the level of Fyodor Dostoevsky in terms of drama and compassion for people. Shmelev’s work is a reconstruction of “that” pre-revolutionary life, primarily in its spiritual dimension. And if (among authors of Russian emigration — ed.) Ivan Ilyin was in the philosophical field, then Ivan Shmelev is Russian culture, literature, Russian life,” concluded the agency’s interlocutor.
As the Publishing Council said earlier, “Shmelev Readings” is an event for schoolchildren, students “and everyone interested in Shmelev’s work.” Students of the Literary Institute and Moscow State Pedagogical University, philologists and writers, as well as members of the jury of the Ivan Shmelev children's literary competition «Summer of the Lord», which is annually held by the Publishing Council, are invited to attend. Previously, on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church it was stated that guests of the evening, among other things, would be treated to a “Shmelev style” tea party and musical surprises.”