Vynnychenko, Volodymyr

Bilia mashyny [By the Machine]

Kharkiv: Literatura i mystetstvo, 1932. Item #1433

39, [1] pages. 15 cm. Series: Masova khudozhnia bibliotechka. In original publisher's wrappers. A well-preserved copy.

A later Soviet-era edition of Volodymyr Vynnychenko's debut short story, "Bilia mashyny," first published in the December 1902 issue of Kievskaia starina. This poignant sketch, deeply rooted in Vynnychenko’s personal experience as a tutor in Podillia, portrays the harsh realities of rural laborers in the shadow of industrialized agriculture and explores early themes of social injustice, class struggle, and political awakening. The story’s vivid depiction of peasant-workers’ grievances against their overseer was subject to significant censorship in its initial publications, notably omitting references to the 1902 peasant unrest in Poltava province.

While the original version was sanitized for the Russian Imperial audience, an uncensored edition appeared in Austrian-controlled Lviv in 1903. This 1932 Soviet edition, printed in the Ukrainian SSR, reflects the selective reclamation of Vynnychenko’s legacy as a revolutionary writer while navigating ideological boundaries of the early Stalinist period. Despite the mass print run, original copies remain scarce due to ephemeral production and the shifting political fortunes of Vynnychenko’s name in Soviet historiography.

As of May 2025, WorldCat records no other copies of this edition.

Price: $150.00