Abstract (eng)
Sex sells, then as now, but in the case of Mikhail Artsybashev’s controversial novel “Sanin” (1907), it was not only “pornography” that appealed to the new literate masses, turning the book into a bestseller in late imperial Russia: The given thesis stresses the point that the novel not only blends high and low culture, but also addresses a wide range of serious social issues. After providing a short overview of the author and his works, as well as a plot synopsis of “Sanin”, the study focuses on the perception of the author and his most famous novel in various studies of Russian literature Based on the findings the question is posed why “Sanin” was excluded from the canon and almost forgotten. The study allows a different view on literary culture at the beginning of the 20th century in Russia.