Puppy Politics and Milk Brotherhood in Khlebnikov's 'The Night before the Soviets'

This article analyses Khlebnikov's reinterpretation of an important politicised motif in Russian nineteenth century literature, that of forced breastfeeding of pedigree puppies by peasant serf women during serfdom. Focusing on Khlebnikov's narrative strategies I argue that his politics of human-animal interaction differed significantly from the realist tradition. Rather, it aligned with the utopian vision of harmonious coexistence between humans and animals characteristic for many personalities of Russian Futurism. Additionally, his take on this politicised motif was underpinned by the South Slav epic narratives of human-dog/wolf interchangeability.