Notes on Contemporary Russian Literature

Post-Soviet Literature (Late 20th - Early 21st Century)

Historical Context

  • 1985: Marked the beginning of the development of a new literary era.

  • Early 1990s: Witnessed the disappearance of "socialist realism" as a dominant literary style.

  • Early 2000s: Saw a rise in nostalgia for the USSR.

Key Authors and Works (Late 20th Century)

  • Valentin Rasputin: "Pozhar" ("The Fire") (1990)

  • Chinghiz Aitmatov: "Plakha" ("The Executioner's Block") (1987)

  • Viktor Astafyev: "Pechalny Detektiv" ("The Sad Detective") (1997)

Rehabilitation of Socialist Realism

  • Alexander Prokhanov: A proponent of rehabilitating socialist realism.

  • "Gospodin Geksogen" ("Mr. Hexogen") - A notable work.

Critics and Their Views

  • S.I. Chuprinin: Editor of the journal "Znamya." His article "Nulevye Gody – Orientatsiya na Mestnosti" ("The 2000s – Orientation in the Area") provides insight into the literary landscape.

  • Andrei Stepanov: From Saint Petersburg State University. He offers a "Kratkiy Obzor Sovremennoy Russkoy Literatury" ("Brief Overview of Contemporary Russian Literature").

  • Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev: Professor at Moscow State University, Doctor of Philological Sciences, delivers lectures on the subject.

Post-Perestroika Literature

Characteristics

  • Focus: Emphasis on the analysis of personality and environment.

  • Informational Environment: Characterized by the development and overabundance of advertising.

Key Authors and Works

  • Sergei Kaledin: "Smirennoe Kladbishche" ("Humble Cemetery"), "Stroybat" ("Construction Battalion")

  • Oleg Pavlov: "Kazyonnaya Pravda" ("State Truth")

  • Roman Senchin: "Minus"

The State of Literature

  • S.I. Chuprinin's Quote: "In the dispute between physicists and lyricists, the accountants won… Perhaps, as pessimists claim, Viktor Yerofeev hurried, but was, alas, right when a decade ago, he announced the wake for Russian literature, and it is indeed time for us to say goodbye, if not to literature, then to our own traditional idea of it."

Literature of the Baroque or Neo-Baroque

  • Focus: Depiction of displaced states of consciousness.

  • Significance: Such depictions were previously taboo in literature.

Key Authors and Works

  • Vladimir Sorokin: "Ochered" ("The Queue") (1985), "Tridtsataya Lyubov Mariny" ("Marina's Thirtieth Love") (1985), "Roman" (1994), and others.

"Chernuha" (Crude Realism)

  • Definition: Depiction of exclusively base aspects of human life.

  • G. Belaya's View: Considered "chernuha" as one of the main features of "other" prose.

  • Purpose: To expose lies, falsehood, embellishment of reality, hypocrisy, and demagoguery prevalent in life and socialist realist literature.

Neorealism in 21st-Century Russian Literature

  • Definition: A literary movement encompassing neoromantic and neomodernist stylistic tendencies, based on a realistic foundation.

Key Authors and Works

  • Lyudmila Ulitskaya: "Perlovy Soup" ("Pearl Soup")

  • Marina Palei: "Kabiriya s Obvodnogo Kanala" ("Cabiria from the Obvodny Canal"), "Otdelenie Propashchikh" ("Department of the Lost")

  • Lyudmila Petrushevskaya: "Vremya Noch" ("Time Night"), "Svoy Krug" ("Own Circle")

Literature of Postmodernism

Key Figures

  • Tatyana Tolstaya, Viktor Yerofeev: Prominent figures in postmodern literature.

Theoretical Foundations

  • Core Idea: The world is an imperfect text, there is no hierarchy of meaning; the author and text are not needed.

  • Consequence: If there is no meaning, meaninglessness ensues.

  • "Diskus" (Discus): A key term.

  • Authorial Intent: The work is not subject to the author's will.

  • Common Practices: Searching for a plot, remaking classics.

Diskus (Fish)

  • Definition: One of the most beautiful aquarium fish (Discus Symphysodon aequifasciatus).

  • Etymology of Symphysodon: From the Greek σύν (syn - together), φύσις (physis - nature) and ὀδούς (odous - tooth), referring to teeth above the fusion point of the jaw halves.

Techniques of Postmodernism

  • Transfer of Characteristics: From the general to the particular.

  • Assessment of Impasse: Evaluating a state of deadlock.

  • Life as Illusion: An underlying concept.

  • Life as Combination of Signs: The idea that life is a system of symbols.

Examples in Literature

  • Vladimir Nabokov: "Korol, Dama, Valet" ("King, Queen, Knave")

    • Characters: Franz, Marta, Dreyer.

    • Initials: FMD, possibly referencing a famous writer.

  • Tatyana Tolstaya: "Kys'"

    • Surnames relating to food: Khlebnikov (bread maker), Karavaeva, Kolbasyev (sausage maker), Sytin (well-fed), Golodny (hungry).

    • Surnames relating to insects: Tarakanova (cockroach), Babochkin (butterfly), Zhukov (beetle), Shmelev (bumblebee), Shershenevich (hornet).

  • Viktor Pelevin: "Empire V"

    • Meaning: Can be interpreted as "Empire V" or referencing vampires (V-Empire).

Genre of Literary Biography

Key Authors and Subjects

  • A. Varlamov: Biographies of M.M. Prishvin, A. Grin, A.N. Tolstoy, G. Rasputin, M. Bulgakov.

  • Dm. Bykov: "Pasternak"

  • L. Losev: "Iosif Brodsky"

  • Dm. Novikov: "A. Blok"

  • Alla Marchenko: "Akhmatova"

  • P. Basinsky: "O Tolstom" ("About Tolstoy")

  • Maya Kucherskaya: "Konstantin Pavlovich"

Poetry

Key Poets

  • Bella Akhmadulina

  • Timur Kibirov

  • Dm. Volodinnikov

  • Vera Pavlova

  • Sergei Ganglevsky

Entertainment Literature

Key Authors in the Detective Genre

  • Alexandra Marinina

  • Darya Dontsova

Darya Dontsova's Awards

  • "Writer of the Year" (2001, 2002, 2003)

  • "Bestseller of the Year" (2002, 2003) - established by the "Book Review" newspaper

  • Awards from the "Biblio-Globus" trading house (2002)

  • "Book of the Year" (2003) - Award from the Ministry for Press, Television and Radio Broadcasting and Mass Communications of Russia.

  • Star on the Literary Star Square in Moscow (2003)

  • Order of Peter the Great, 1st degree (2005)

  • "Writer of the Year" (2006, 2007)

Other Genres

  • Glamour Literature: Oksana Robski

  • Fantasy Literature: Sergei Lukyanenko

New Trends in Literature

  • Shift in Course: Literature has changed its direction.

  • Deep Processes: Undergoing profound transformations.

  • Art as Truth-Seeking: Striving for truth and spiritual foundations.

Key Figures

  • V. Makanin & V. Putin

  • Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Vladimir Makanin: Contemporary literary giants.

Notable Works

  • Vladimir Makanin: "Andergraund" ("Underground"), "Assan"

Notable Authors

  • Viktor Pelevin

  • Olga Slavnikova

  • Nikolai Konov

Key Works (Early 2000s)

  • Viktor Pelevin: "t", "Chisla" ("Numbers")

  • Olga Slavnikova: "2017"

  • Nikolai Konov: "Nezhny Teatr" ("Tender Theater")

Key Literary Works (2000-2010)

2000-2003

  • 2000: T. Tolstaya "Kys'"

  • 2001: B. Akunin "Coronation, or The Last of the Romanovs" ("Coronatsiya. Smert' Romanovykh")

  • 2002: L. Ulitskaya "The Kukotsky Case" ("Kazus Kukotskogo")

  • 2002: O. Slavnikova "Immortality" ("Bessmertiye")

  • 2002: P. Krusanov "Bom-Bom"

  • 2003: A. Gelasimov "Thirst" ("Zhazhda")

  • 2003: D. Novikov "A Fly in Amber" ("Mukha v yantare")

  • 2003: L. Ulitskaya "Skvoznaya Liniya" ("The Open Line")

2004-2007

  • 2004: V. Aksenov "Volteryantsy i volteryanki" ("Voltaireans and Voltaire Women")

  • 2005: L. Konov "Nezhny Teatr" ("Tender Theater")

  • 2006: M. Shishkin "Venerin Volos" ("Venus' Hair")

  • 2005: D. Gucko "Bez Puti-Sleda" ("Without a Trace")

  • 2007: O. Slavnikova "2017"

  • 2006: V. Sorokin "Den' Oprichnika" (“Day of the Oprichnik”)

  • 2006: V. Pelevin "Empire V"

  • 2007: A. Dmitriev "Bukhta Radosti" ("Bay of Joy")

  • 2007: O. Slavnikova "Basilevs"

2008-2010

  • 2008: A. Dmitriev "Bukhta Radosti" ("Bay of Joy")

  • 2009: O. Slavnikova "Basilevs"

  • 2010: L. Yusefovich "Zhuravli i Karliki" (“Cranes and Dwarfs”)

  • 2010: P. Basinsky "O Tolstom" ("About Tolstoy")

Annotation of Selected Contemporary Literary Works

Tatyana Tolstaya "Kys'"

  • Plot: A post-nuclear war Russia, filled with irony and sarcasm.

  • Genre: Anti-utopia (a warning about a dangerous path).

  • Ecological Warning: The novel associates a catastrophic "Blast" with the Chernobyl disaster.

  • Setting: A small settlement surrounded by fortress walls, inhabited by mutant humans, descendants of former Muscovites.

  • Mutations: Caused by reckless handling of "ARUZHYE" (weaponry) and the consequences of the Blast. Examples given are: "hands as if coated with green flour," gills, rooster crests, etc.

  • Major Themes:

    • The search for lost spirituality and inner harmony.

    • The loss of continuity between generations.

    • Historical memory and preservation of the past (e.g., Nikita Ivanovich placing signs with names like "Arbat," "Sadovoe Koltso," "Kuznetsky Most").

Boris Akunin "Coronation, or The Last of the Romanovs"

  • Setting: 1896, during the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II.

  • Plot: The kidnapping of Mikhail, the four-year-old son of Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich. The kidnapper, "Dr. Lind," demands the "Orlov Diamond" from the imperial scepter as ransom.

  • Consequences: Without the scepter, the coronation cannot take place. Erast Petrovich Fandorin is tasked with saving the monarchy's honor.

  • Narrative Style: Told as a diary from the perspective of Afanasy Zyukin, the butler of Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich.

  • Historical Context: Recreates the tragic atmosphere of late 19th-century Russia and describes the Khodynka Tragedy.

  • Historical Inaccuracies: Akunin altered some family relationships of the Romanovs and changed names of historical figures.

Lyudmila Ulitskaya "The Kukotsky Case"

  • Plot: The ordinary life of a Soviet Moscow family.

  • Themes: The problem of abortion, attitudes towards it.

  • Historical Background: The book portrays events of the second half of the 20th century: the persecution of genetics, arrests and labor camps, Stalin's funeral, the Khrushchev Thaw etc.

  • Adaptation: Adapted into a TV series by Yuri Grymov and NTV.

  • Awards: Winner of the Booker Prize (2001), published in over 25 countries.

Pavel Krusanov "Bom-Bom"

  • Plot: The story of the Norushkin family, who have traditionally guarded a subterranean "devil's tower" with a mystical "gnievisov" - a device for awakening a Russian revolt.

  • Style: The author uses a technique described as weaving a fantastic thread into the gray fabric of everyday life.

  • Themes:

    • Love for the Motherland

    • Inseparability of the past and present.

    • Duty and responsibility

  • Ending: Offers two possible finales: the hero descends into the dungeon, or he continues his life as before.

Andrei Gelasimov "Thirst"

  • Plot: A war veteran with a disfigured face earns a living repairing apartments, drinks heavily, searches for a missing, alcoholic friend who sold his apartment.

  • Resolution: The protagonist gradually returns to life, reconnects with his father's new family, reconciles friends, and begins painting again.

Dmitry Novikov "A Fly in Amber"

  • Themes: Time vs. Memory.

  • Symbolism: A fly trapped in amber represents a moment frozen in time. Similarly, people are enveloped by time and events, leaving a lasting mark upon eternity.

Vasily Aksenov "Volteryantsy i volteryanki" (“Voltaireans and Voltaire Women”)

  • Plot Summary: The novel revolves around the intellectual relationship between Catherine the Great and Voltaire, who were both influential figures in the 18th century/“Age of Enlightenment.” The author portrays the passions and drama behind the philosophical ideas.

Denis Gucko "Without a Trace"

  • Plot: A young man born in Georgia returns to his mother's homeland in Rostov after the collapse of the USSR. He struggles to adapt to a new culture and faces challenges in obtaining a Russian passport. The novel focuses on themes of identity, belonging, and the search for a homeland.

Olga Slavnikova "2017"

  • Setting: The Ural region, incorporating elements of local folklore.

  • Themes: Incorporates both modern and folkloric/mythical elements. References the stories of Bazhov and the spirit of the Copper Mountain.

  • Plot: Set in the background of impending social changes, a reenactment of the October Revolution transforms into a serious social disturbance.

Andrei Dmitriev "Bukhta Radosti" ("Bay of Joy")

  • Plot: Focuses on contemporary life in the suburbs of Moscow and the lives of people in those communities.

Mikhail Shishkin "Venerin Volos" ("Venus' Hair")

  • Themes: Reflects on Russian identity, culture and meaning through the experiences of a translator traveling in Europe. The title refers to Venus hair fern(Adiantum capillus-veneris.) The protagonist connects with Russian identity through language especially the character of Saint Cyril because of the Russian alphabet

  • Quote by Shiskin: "This is a book about very simple things, without which life is impossible… Russia is only a small piece of God’s big world."

New Generation of Writers

  • Positive Reception: Welcomed by the literary community.

  • Opportunity: Published in "thick" journals and participate in the Forum of Young Writers of Russia.

  • Focus: Seeking a new language and new ways of understanding reality while valuing truth and spiritual foundations.

Notable Young Authors

  • Zakhar Prilepin, Dmitry Novikov, Maya Kucherskaya, Irina Mamaeva, Nadezhda Gorlova.