Boris PilniakBoris Pilniak (1894 - 1938) was a Russian writer. Pilniak achieved fame very quickly at the age of 25 through his novel The Naked Year, one of the first fictional accounts of the Russian civil war. He was a major supporter of anti-urbanism and a critc of mechanized society, views which brought him into disfavor with Communist critics. The poet Demyan Bedny denounced him in Pravda on 16 October 1923 as a 'stinking' member of the 'horde of clueless fellow travelers. The Old Bolshevik, Aleksandr Voronsky, founding editor of the journal Krasnaya nov (Red Virgin Soil), was offended by the remark made one character that the Russian revolution "smells of sexual organs," but acknowledged Pilniak's talent and published his next work Materials for a Novel. Read More Read Less