Kritika (Hungarian: Critique) is a monthly political, cultural and literary magazine published in Budapest, Hungary. It has been in circulation since 1963.

History and profile

The first issue of Kritika appeared in September 1963,^[1] and it was the official organ of the Institute of Literary Studies.^[2] The Hungarian Literary History Society and the Association of Hungarian Writers were also partners of the magazine which published reviews, aesthetic studies primarily on fiction, music and cinema.^[3] The founding editors-in-chief were András Diószegi and Antal Wéber.^[2] Later Wéber was replaced by Miklós Almási in the post.^[2] Its most active collaborators were Miklós Béládi Zoltán Kenyeres and Béla Pomogáts who continued to work for the magazine until 1971.^[2] During this period the magazine strictly followed the Marxist-Leninist ideology^[3] and featured interviews one of which was with the poet Gyula Illyés.^[4] However, Kritika left its focus on realism and socialist literary criticism in 1966 and began to cover articles on structuralism.^[5]

In 1971 the Hungarian authorities ended the affiliation of the magazine with the Institute of Literary Studies, and Pál Pándi was appointed editor-in-chief of Kritika in 1972.^[2] Immediately after his appointment the central committee of the ruling Socialist Workers' Party banned all work on structuralism.^[5] During Pándi's editorship Kritika focused on literary, cultural and political issues. Notable contributors of this period included Pál Almási, István Király, Péter Agárdi, Gábor Ráfis Hajdú, and Géza Vasy.^[3] Pándi served as the editor-in-chief of the magazine until 1983.^[3]

It is published on a monthly basis by Népszabadság Zrt. which also publishes a left-liberal daily, Népszabadság.^[6] The magazine, headquartered in Budapest, describes itself as a "socio-theoretical and cultural publication".^[6] It covers essays on literary, theatre and film analyses, and interviews.^[6] In addition, it publishes articles about political and cultural analyses.^[7] As of 2013 Erno Balogh was the editor of the monthly.^[8]