A Handbook of the Socialist Movement

This essay examines the Soviet project of literary translation into Amharic, testing its ostensibly egalitarian appeal against the USSR’s political goals. Firstly, I use a bibliographical index to overview the history of Soviet Amharic translation, demonstrating the statist nature of the project. Secondly, through a case study of the translation of Gorky’s Mother (1906), I analyze the limits of state control over a translation project. I conclude that, despite the literalistic mode of translation strictly imposed by the Soviet publisher, translators could adjust their work to transmit a particular message to his readership. Books, as cultural goods, are not only distinct from market commodities; they resist being reduced to political functions. Despite the state’s significant investment of resources, the USSR could not determine which books would become popular and domesticated in subaltern nations, and which would be rejected.