Andrei Platonov (Russian: Андре́й Плато́нов, IPA: [ɐnˈdrʲej plɐˈtonəf]; August 28 [O.S. August 16] 1899[1] – January 5, 1951) was the pen name of Andrei Platonovich Klimentov (Russian: Андре́й Плато́нович Климе́нтов), a Soviet author whose works anticipate existentialism. Although Platonov was a Communist, his works were banned in his own lifetime for their skeptical attitude toward collectivization and other Stalinist policies. His famous works include the novels The Foundation Pit and Chevengur.

The Foundation Pit (1929–1930) (Kotlovan) is a gloomy symbolical and semi-satirical novel by Andrei Platonov.[1] The plot of the novel concerns a group of workers in the early Soviet Union attempting to dig out a huge foundation pit, on the base of which a gigantic House for all Proletariat will be built. The workers dig daily, but they slowly cease understanding meaning in their work; the enormous foundation pit sucks out all their energy.

Along with Yevgeny Zamyatin, Platonov created one of the first state-control dystopias of the 20th century on the creative level of works such as Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley's Brave New World. However, both English Novels were published long before a translation of The Foundation Pit became available.

The Foundation Pit is a representation of the conflict that occurred between the individual and the collectivized State in the late 1920s. The only existence one has is being part of a whole.

Due to censorship, The Foundation Pit was not published in the Soviet Union until 1987.