The Foundation Pit

Platonov was a utopian communist until he was expelled from the party in 1926. His literature reflects his growing doubts of the human cost of the communist experiment. But also Russian history generally - the epifan locks (about the tremendous human cost of Peter the Great's canal building projects in St Petersburg) Chevenguer, and The Foundation Pit, a nightmare vision of collectivisation , where the “foundation pit” of a huge communal home turns out to be a monumental grave for all of humanity.