The Post-Soviet Politics of Utopia : Language, Fiction and Fantasy in Modern Russia

More than 700 'utopian' novels are published in Russia every year. These utopias – meaning here fantasy fiction, science fiction, space operas or alternative history – do not set out merely to titillate; instead they express very real Russian anxieties: be they territorial right-sizing, loss of imperial status or turning into a 'colony' of the West. Contributors to this innovative collection use these narratives to re-examine post-Soviet Russian political culture and identity. Interrogating the intersections of politics, ideologies and fantasies, chapters draw together the highbrow literary mainstream (authors such as Vladimir Sorokin), mass literature for entertainment and individuals who bridge the gap between fiction writers and intellectuals or ideologists (Aleksandr Prokhanov, for example, the editor-in-chief of Russia's far-right newspaper Zavtra ). In the process The Post-Soviet Politics of Utopia sheds crucial light onto a variety of debates – including the rise of nationalism, right-wing populism, imperial revanchism, the complicated presence of religion in the public sphere, the function of language – and is important reading for anyone interested in the heightened importance of ideas, myths, alternative histories and conspiracy theories in Russia today. Review “Suslov and Bodin have assembled a comprehensive guide to some very strange (but very fascinating) worlds. Some of them are frightening to visit, but the book's readers could not be in better hands.” ― Eliot Borenstein, Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, New York University, USA “Speculative fiction does not just imagine the future of Putin's Russia – one of its primary tasks is to process the traumatic legacy of the Soviet Union's collapse. Thus it is not a coincidence, or a trick of marketing, that makes speculative fiction of all sorts (utopian, dystopian, science fiction, fantasy, alt-history, horror) the most widely read literature in Russia today. This volume is a much-needed guide to key authors and trends in post-Soviet utopian writing.” ― Yvonne H. Howell, Professor of Russian and International Studies, University of Richmond, USA About the Author Per-Arne Bodin is Professor of Slavic Languages at Stockholm University. Mikhail Suslov is Assistant Professor of Russian History and Politics at University of Copenhagen. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Contents Figures Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction Utopias and utopianism Overview of the history of utopianism in Russia Post-Soviet utopianism Content overview Notes Part One History 1 Alternative Russian Revolution: Viacheslav Rybakov and Kir Bulychev Perestroika historiography Authors and stories Ethnic problems Violence The image of Lenin Conclusion Notes 2 Ressentiment and Post-traumatic Syndrome in Russian Post-Soviet Speculative Fiction: Two Trends 1 Introduction Russian vs the whole world: future wars To come back and change for the better: correcting the past In the beginning: a social lift for a loser To alter for the better The Second World War and popadantsy: new allies and enemies The USSR: back to the future Conclusion Notes 3 Telluro-Cosmic Imperial Utopia andContemporary Russian Art Introduction Metamodenism, cosmos and post-Soviet Russian conservatism The Cosmos, cosmism and contemporary Russian art Conclusion Notes 4 Lazarus on the Ark: Heterotopias in the Novels of Vladimir Sharov and Evgenii Vodolazkin Introduction Heterotopia: an ‘effectively enacted utopia’ Crisis and deviation: clinic, prison and ward Heterochronicity and simultaneity: memory and time Conclusion: narratives of trauma and flight Notes Part Two Ideology 5 Conservative Science Fiction in Contemporary Russian Literature and Politics 1 Introduction SF networks and hybrid SF Engaging with the Strugatsky brothers Orthodox SF: anamnesis and nemesis Conclusion Notes 6 Othering Russia: Eduard Limonov’s Retrofuturistic (Anti-)Utopia The sources and component parts of Limonov’s vision of the future (I): National Bolshevism, the avant-garde and fascism The sources and component parts of Limonov’s vision of the future (II): Eurasianism, millenarianism and the New Chronology The target audience and the genre Notes 7 Religio-political Utopia by Iana Zavatskaia Introduction Forerunning societies: Edoli and Deitros A pragmatic utopia: Kvirin Dystopian societies Conclusion Notes 8 ‘Respectable Xenophobia’: Science Fiction, Utopia and Conspiracy A trajectory of the Russian utopia toward xenophobia The Russian idea in Vasilii Golovachev’s imagination The trend has changed but the attitude has not Conclusion: nostalgia for utopia and xenophobia Notes Part Three Language 9 Church Slavonic in Russian Dystopias and Utopias The status of Church Slavonic in Russian culture Church Slavonic as an element in dystopias The use of Church Slavonic in conservative utopias Notes 10 Contested Utopias: Language Ideologies in Valerii Votrin’s Logoped Introduction The language debate in post-Soviet Russia Language and identity: concluding remarks Notes 11 ‘Londongrad’ as a Linguistic Imaginary: Russophone Migrants in the UK in the Work of Michael Idov and Andrei Ostalsky Introduction The linguistic imaginary The two ‘Londongrads’ Speaking Russian in Londongrad Socially varied Russian Intercultural communication Conclusion Notes Part Four Territory 12 Provinces, Piety and Promotional Putinism: Mapping Aleksandr Prokhanov’s Counter-Utopian Russia* Prokhanov’s counter-utopian imagination Intellectual background Building ‘sacred mounds’ Public commentary Counter-utopian vision in Prokhanov’s novels Conclusion Notes 13 Parameters of Space-Time and Degrees of (Un)Freedom: Dmitry Bykov’s ZhD Introduction Bykov’s symbolic geography Non-Euclidian spaces, impossible timelines Roads and meetings The locomotive of history Circularity – linearity, dystopia – a way out Conclusion: ethical agents and a Lotman encore Notes 14 The New ‘Norma’: Vladimir Sorokin’s Telluriaand Post-Utopian Science Fiction Introduction: post- utopian science fiction Telluria ’s cognitive map Telluria and neo-medievalism Conclusion Notes Afterword: Back to the Future, Forward to the Past? Explorations in Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy SF and conservatism Alternative history Cyclical history SF and political history Territory and empire Utopias in the imperial margins The besieged ethnic and linguistic fortress Notes Selected Bibliography Index