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Abstract:

The article presents an attempt to clarify the dating of Platonov’s short stories from the mid-1930s to the late 1930s, which was carried out during the preparation of the next volume of the first academic collection of Platonov’s works at the Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The basis for clarifying the dating of the short stories was the study of Platonov’s lifetime manuscripts, including his working notes, the characteristics of the paper he used during this period, and the editor’s notes and annotations. Additionally, the article examines the surviving editorial materials from various periodicals of the time. At the same time, it was possible to significantly expand the understanding of Platonov’s collaboration with the magazines “Novy Mir” (in 1936) and “Oktyabr” (in 1940 and early 1941). The study also included materials collected as a result of the work and creative activities of the writer’s wife, M.A. Platonova. The research was supplemented with observations on the transformation of the writer’s creative ideas during the process of writing certain stories.