Ferdinand Peroutka and his perception of Russian literature

Abstract

The Study presents the most important person of the journalism of the 20th century, in the context of development of the Czech journalism. It brings Peroutka´s (1895-1978) brief biography and emphasizes his activities in the journal Přítomnost. The author points to Peroutka´s connection with the friendly group around Karel Čapek, to his imprisonment in a concentration camp and his life in exile in the United States of America, connected with his cooperation with Radio Free Europe. He describes Peroutka´s journalistic and fiction work (short stories, dramas, and a novel). He deals with Peroutka´s attitude to the fiction literature, especially to the Russian fiction, which had been the subject of Peroutka´s interest for more than 60 years. Based on the analysis of the book-published work, the author documents Peroutka´s orientation in the given questions and his opinions on both the whole of Russian fiction literature and its important representatives: Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostojevsky, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn.