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Russian speculative fiction

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(Redirected fromSoviet science fiction)
Genre of speculative fiction
"Russian fantasy" redirects here. The term may also refer toSlavic fantasy.
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A 1967 Russian post stamp depicting an alien spaceship

Elements offantastical or supernatural fiction have been part of mainstreamRussian literature since the 18th century. Russian fantasy developed from the centuries-old traditions ofSlavic mythology andfolklore. Russianscience fiction emerged in the mid-19th century and rose to its prominence during the Soviet era, both in cinema and literature, with writers like theStrugatsky brothers,Kir Bulychov, andMikhail Bulgakov, among others. Soviet filmmakers produced a number science fiction and fantasy films. Outside modern Russian borders, there are a significant number of Russophone writers and filmmakers from Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, who have made a notable contribution to the genres.

Terminology

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In the Russian language, fantasy, science fiction, horror and all other related genres are considered a part of a largerumbrella term, фантастика (fantastika), roughly equivalent to "speculative fiction", and are less divided than in the West. The Russian term for science fiction is научная фантастика (nauchnaya fantastika), which can be literally translated as "scientific fantasy" or "scientific speculative fiction". Although the Russian language has a literal translation for 'fantasy',фантазия (fantaziya), the word refers to a dream or imagination, not literary genre. Today, Russian publishers and literary critics use direct English transcription, фэнтези (fentezi) for "fantasy".Gothic andsupernatural fiction are often referred to as мистика (mistika, Russian formysticism).

Imperial period

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The titular monster from Nikolai Gogol's gothic storyViy (1835)
See also:Russian mythology andFolklore of Russia

18th and early 19th centuries

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While science fiction did not emerge in Russia as a coherent genre until the early 20th century, many of its aspects, such as utopia or imaginary voyage, are found in earlier Russian works.

Fedor Dmitriev-Mamonov's anti-clericalA Philosopher Nobleman. The Allegory (Дворянин-философ. Аллегория, 1769) is considered prototypical to science fiction.[1][page needed] It is avoltaireanconte philosophique influenced byMicromégas.[2]

Utopia was a major genre of early Russian speculative fiction. The firstutopia in Russian was a short story byAlexander Sumarokov, "A Dream of Happy Society" (1759). Two earlyutopias in form of imaginary voyage areVasily Levshin'sNewest Voyage (1784, also the first Russian "flight" to the Moon) andMikhail Shcherbatov'sJourney to the Land of Ophir. Pseudo-historicalheroic romances in classical settings (modeled onFenelon'sTelemaque) byFyodor Emin,Mikhail Kheraskov,Pavel Lvov andPyotr Zakharyin were also utopian.Ancient Night of the Universe (1807), anepic poem bySemyon Bobrov, is the first work ofRussian Cosmism. Some ofFaddei Bulgarin's tales are set in the future, others exploited themes ofhollow earth and space flight, as didOsip Senkovsky'sFantastic Voyages of Baron Brambeus.

Bulgarin's 1824 novelPlausible Fantasies is considered to be the first "true" science fiction in Russian literature.[3][4]

Authors ofGothic stories includedAleksandr Bestuzhev with his Germancouleur locale,Sergey Lyubetsky,Vladimir Olin,Alexey K. Tolstoy,Elizaveta Kologrivova andMikhail Lermontov ("Stoss").

By the mid-19th century, imaginary voyages to space had become popularchapbooks, such asVoyage to the Sun and Planet Mercury and All the Visible and Invisible Worlds (1832) by Dmitry Sigov,Correspondence of a Moonman with an Earthman (1842) by Pyotr Mashkov,Voyage to the Moon in a Wonderful Machine (1844) by Semyon Dyachkov andVoyage in the Sun (1846) by Demokrit Terpinovich. Popular literature used fantastic motifs like demons (Rafail Zotov'sQin-Kiu-Tong),invisibility (Ivan Shteven'sMagic Spectacles) and shrinking men (Vasily Alferyev'sPicture).

Hoffmann's fantastic tales influenced east European writers including Ukrainian writerNikolay Gogol, Russian writersAntony Pogorelsky,Nikolay Melgunov, Vladimir Karlgof,Nikolai Polevoy,Aleksey Tomofeev,Konstantin Aksakov andVasily Ushakov. Supernatural folk tales were stylized byOrest Somov,Vladimir Olin,Mikhail Zagoskin andNikolay Bilevich.Vladimir Odoevsky, a romantic writer influenced by Hoffmann, wrote on his vision of the future and scientific progress[5] as well as manyGothic tales.

Alexander Veltman, along with his folk romances (Koschei the Immortal, 1833) and hoffmanesque satiric tales (New Yemelya or, Metamorphoses, 1845), in 1836 publishedThe forebears of Kalimeros: Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon, the first Russian novel to featuretime travel.[6] In the book, the main character rides to ancient Greece on ahippogriff to meetAristotle andAlexander the Great. InYear 3448 (1833), aHeliodoric love romance set in the future, a traveler visits an imaginary country Bosphorania and sees social and technological advances of the 35th century.

Late 19th - early 20th century

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Evil witchBaba Yaga at a painting byVictor Vasnetsov, a late 19th-century Russian artist who specialized in paintings of Russian mythology

The second half of the 19th century saw the rise ofrealism. However, fantasies with a scientific rationale byNikolai Akhsharumov andNikolai Vagner stand out during this period, as well asIvan Turgenev's "mysterious tales" andVera Zhelikhovsky's occult fiction.

Mikhail Mikhailov's story "Beyond History" (published in 1869), a pre-Darwinian fantasy on thedescent of man, is an early example ofprehistoric fiction. Fictional accounts of prehistoric men were written by anthropologists and popular science writers ("Prehistoric Man", 1890, byWilhelm Bitner,The First Artist, 1907, by Dmitry Pakhomov,Tale of a Mammoth and an Ice-Man, 1909, byPyotr Dravert,Dragon's Victims, 1910, byVladimir Bogoraz).Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin's satires use a fantastic andgrotesque element (The History of a Town and prose fables). The plot ofAnimal Mutiny (published 1917) by historianMykola Kostomarov is similar to that ofOrwell'sAnimal Farm.[7]

Some ofFyodor Dostoevsky's short works also use fantasy:The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (about the corruption of theutopian society on another planet), adoppelgänger novellaThe Double: A Petersburg Poem,mesmericThe Landlady, and a comichorror storyBobok. Dostoevsky's magazineVremya was first to publish Russian translations ofEdgar Allan Poe's stories in 1861.Alexander Kondratyev's prose included mythological novelSatyress (1907) and collection of mythological storiesWhite Goat (1908), both based onGreek myths.Journeys and Adventures of Nicodemus the Elder (1917) byAleksey Skaldin is aGnostic fantasy.

Utopias

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Nikolai Chernyshevsky's influentialWhat Is to Be Done? (1863) included a utopian dream of the far future, which became a prototype for many socialist utopias. A noted example is the duology by Marxist philosopherAlexander Bogdanov,Red Star andEngineer Menni. Some plays of another Marxist,Anatoly Lunacharsky, propose his philosophical ideas in fantastic disguise. Other socialist utopias includeDiary of André (1897) by pseudonymous A. Va-sky,On Another Planet (1901) by Porfiry Infantyev, andSpring Feast (1910) byNikolay Oliger.Alexander Kuprin wrote a short story of the same kind,Toast (1907).

Among others,Vladimir Solovyov wroteTale of the Anti-Christ (1900), an ecumenical utopia.Earthly Paradise (1903) byKonstantin Mereschkowski is an anthropological utopia.Great War Between Men and Women (1913) by Sergey Solomin andWomen Uprisen and Defeated (1914) by Polish writerFerdynand Antoni Ossendowski (written and published in Russian) is about afeminist revolution. Other feminist utopias include shortfarcesWomen on Mars (1906) byVictor Bilibin andWomen Problem (1913) byNadezhda Teffi.In Half a Century (1902) bySergey Sharapov is a patriarchalSlavophile utopia, andLand of Bliss (1891) byCrimean TatarIsmail Gasprinski is aMuslim utopia. VoluminousA Created Legend (1914) by anotherSymbolistFyodor Sologub is a utopia full of science fictional wonders close to magic.

Entertainment speculative fiction

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An illustration to Tsiolkovsky's educational science fiction storyOn the Moon (1893)

Entertainment fiction adoptedscientistic themes, such as resurrection of an ancient Roman (Extraordinary Story of a Resurrected Pompeian byVasily Avenarius), global disaster (Struggle of the Worlds, 1900, by N. Kholodny;Under the Comet, 1910, by Simon Belsky), mind reading devices (a recurring theme in works byAndrey Zarin), Antarctic city-states (Under the Glass Dome, 1914, bySergey Solomin), an elixir of longevity (Brothers of the Saint Cross, 1898, by Nikolay Shelonsky), andAtlantis (1913, byLarisa Reisner).

Spaceflight remained a central science fiction topic since the 1890s inIn the Ocean of Stars (1892) by Anany Lyakide,In the Moon (1893) andDreams of Earth and Skies (1895) byKonstantin Tsiolkovsky,Voyage to Mars (1901) by Leonid Bogoyavlensky, "In Space" (1908) byNikolay Morozov,Sailing Ether (1913) by Boris Krasnogorsky and its sequel,Islands of Ethereal Ocean (1914, co-authored by astronomerDaniil Svyatsky).

In the 1910s, Russian audience was interested in horror.Fire-Blossom, a supernatural thriller byAlexander Amfiteatrov andVera Kryzhanovsky's occult romances, that combined sci-fi and reactionary elitist utopia, were popular.Bram Stoker'sDracula was imitated by pseudonymous "b. Olshevri" (= "more lies" in Russian) inVampires, even before the original was translated to Russian. EarlyAlexander Grin's stories are mostly psychological horror (influenced byAmbrose Bierce), though later he drifted to fantasy.

Future progress was described in fiction by scientists: "Wonders of Electricity" (1884) by electric engineerVladimir Chikolev,Automatic Underground Railway (1902) by Alexander Rodnykh, and "Billionaire's Testament" (1904) by biologistPorfiry Bakhmetyev.Future war stories were produced by the military (Cruiser "Russian Hope" (1887) andFatal War of 18.. (1889) by retired navy officerAlexander Belomor,Big Fist or Chinese-European War (1900) by K. Golokhvastov,Queen of the World (1908) andKings of the Air (1909) by navy officerVladimir Semyonov, "War of Nations 1921-1923" (1912) by Ix,War of the "Ring" with the "Union" (1913) by P. R-tsky, andEnd of War (1915) byLev Zhdanov).Threat to the World (1914) byIvan Ryapasov (who styled himself "Ural Jules Verne") is similar toJules Verne'sThe Begum's Fortune. Jules Verne was so popular thatAnton Chekhov wrote a parody on him, andKonstantin Sluchevsky produced a sequel - "Captain Nemo in Russia" (1898).

Soviet period

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Soviet science fiction

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Soviet writers were innovative, numerous and prolific,[8] despite limitations set up by state censorship. Both Russian and foreign writers of science fiction enjoyed mainstream popularity in the Soviet Union, and many books were adapted for film and animation.

Early Soviet era

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The birth of Soviet science fiction was spurred byscientific revolution,industrialisation, mass education and other dramatic social changes that followed theRussian Revolution. Early Soviet authors from the 1920s, such asAlexander Belyaev,Grigory Adamov,Vladimir Obruchev andAlexey N. Tolstoy, stuck tohard science fiction.[9] They openly embraced influence from the genre's western classics, such asJules Verne,Arthur Conan Doyle and especiallyH. G. Wells, who was a socialist and often visited Soviet Russia.

An illustration toProfessor Dowell's Head, byAlexander Belyaev, a novella aboutmad scientist reviving a disembodied head

Science fiction books from the 1920s included science predictions, adventure and space travel, often with a hue ofworking class agenda and satire against capitalism.[10][11][12] Alexey N. Tolstoy'sAelita (1923), one of the most influential books of the era, featured two Russians raising a revolution on Mars. Tolstoy'sEngineer Garin's Death Ray (1926) follows a mad scientist who plans to take over the world, and he's eventually welcomed by capitalists. Similarly, the main antagonist of Belyaev'sThe Air Seller (1929) is a megalomaniac capitalist who plots to steal all the world's atmosphere. Belyaev'sBattle in Ether (1928) is about afuture world war, fought between communist Europe and capitalist America. The novelProfessor Dowell's Head (1925), also by Belyaev, is about a mad doctor who performs experimental head transplants on stolen bodies in a hospital, which he operates solely for profit, and where the patients aren't really sick at all.

Soviet authors were also interested in the distant past. Belyaev described his view of "historical" Atlantis inThe Last Man from Atlantis (1926), and Obruchev is best known forPlutonia (written in 1915, before Revolution, but only published in 1924), set insidehollow Earth where dinosaurs and other extinct species survived, as well as for his other "lost world" novel,Sannikov Land (1924).

Two notable exclusions from Soviet 'Wellsian' tradition wereYevgeny Zamyatin, author of dystopian novelWe (1924), andMikhail Bulgakov, who contributed to science fiction withHeart of a Dog (1925),The Fatal Eggs (1925) andIvan Vasilyevich (1936). The two used science fiction for social satire rather than scientistic prediction, and challenged the traditional communist worldview. Some of their books were refused or even banned and only became officially published in the 1980s. Nevertheless, Zamyatin and especially Bulgakov became relatively well-known through circulation of fan-made copies (Samizdat).

The following Stalin era, from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s, saw a period of stagnation in Soviet science fiction, because of heavy censorship that forced the writers to adoptsocialist realism cliches. Science fiction of this period is called "close aim". Instead of the distant future, it was set in "tomorrow", and limited itself to anticipation of industrial achievements, inventions and travels within the Solar system. The top "close aim" writers wereAlexander Kazantsev,Georgy Martynov,Vladimir Savchenko andGeorgy Gurevich.

In films the "close aim" era lasted longer, and many films based on "close aim" books and scripts were made in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of these films, namelyPlanet of the Storms (1962) andThe Sky Beckons (1959), were pirated, re-edited and released in the West under different titles.[13]

Late Soviet era

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Memorial stone at theAlisa Selezneva alley in Moscow is dedicated to the main character ofKir Bulychov's sci-fi franchise

The period 1956 to the early 1970s was the "golden era" of Soviet science fiction.[14]Algis Budrys described postwar Russian science fiction as akin to the style ofHugo Gernsback: "Ah, Comrade, here among the marvels of the year 2000 ... we are free to discussdialectical materialism in total tranquility".[15] In the second half of the 20th century, Soviet science fiction authors, inspired by theThaw period of the 1950 and 1960s and the country'sspace pioneering, developed a more varied and complex approach. The liberties of the genre offered Soviet writers a loophole for free expression.Social science fiction, concerned with philosophy,ethics,utopian anddystopian ideas, became the prevalent subgenre;[16] Budrys said in 1968, when reviewing a collection translated into English, that Russian authors had "discoveredJohn Campbell", with stories that "read like they were from the back pages of circa 1950Astoundings".[15] Most Soviet writers still portrayed the future Earth optimistically, as a communist utopia - some did it frankly, some to please publishers and avoid censorship.Postapocalyptic anddystopian plots were usually placed outside Earth – on underdeveloped planets, in the distant past, or onparallel worlds. Nevertheless, the settings occasionally bore allusion of the real world, and could serve as a satire of contemporary society.

The breakthrough is considered to have been started withIvan Yefremov'sAndromeda (1957), autopia set in the very distant future. Yefremov rose to fame with hisutopian views on the future, as well as onAncient Greece in hishistorical novels. He was soon followed by a duo of brothersArkady and Boris Strugatsky, who have taken a more critical approach: their books included darker themes and social satire. The Strugatskies are best known for theirNoon Universe novels, such asHard to be a God (1964) andPrisoners of Power (1969). A recurring theme in Strugatskies' fiction wereprogressors: agents of utopian future Earth who secretly spread scientistic and social progress to underdeveloped planets. Progressors often failed, bitterly recognizing that society is not ready for communism. The brothers are also credited for the Soviet's firstscience fantasy, theMonday Begins on Saturday trilogy (1964), and theirpost-apocalyptic novelRoadside Picnic (1971) is often believed to have been a prediction of theChernobyl disaster. Another notable late Soviet writer wasKir Bulychov, whose books featuredtime travel andparallel worlds, and themes likeantimilitarism andenvironment protection.

A specific branch of both science fiction and children's books appeared in the mid-Soviet era: the children's science fiction. It was meant to educate children while entertaining them. The star of the genre was Bulychov,[9][17] who, along with his adult books, createdAlisa Selezneva, a children's space adventure series about a teenage girl from the future. Others include Nikolay Nosov with his books about dwarfNeznayka, Evgeny Veltistov, who wrote aboutrobot boy Electronic, Vitaly Melentyev, Yan Larri,Vladislav Krapivin, andVitaly Gubarev.

Films and other media

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Ksenia Moskalenko as a cosmonaut in the sci-fi filmCosmic Voyage (1936). The film featured one of the first realistic portrayals of spaceflight and was overseen by rocket scientistTsiolkovsky

Soviet cinema developed a tradition of science fiction films, with directors likePavel Klushantsev,Andrey Tarkovsky,Konstantin Lopushansky,Vladimir Tarasov,Richard Viktorov andGennady Tischenko.

Many science fiction books, especially children's, were made into films, animation and TV.[13] The most adapted Russian SF author was Bulychov; of the numerous films based onAlisa Selezneva stories, animationMystery of the Third Planet (1981) is probably the most popular. Other Bulychov-based films includePer Aspera Ad Astra (1981),Guest from the Future (1985),Two Tickets to India (1985),The Pass (1988) andThe Witches Cave (1990).Andrey Tarkovsky'sStalker (1979) was written by the Strugatskys, and is loosely based on theirRoadside Picnic; there were also less successful films based onDead Mountaineer's Hotel (1979) andHard to Be a God (1989).Aelita (1924) was the first Soviet SF film, andEngineer Garin was made into film twice,in 1965 andin 1973.Amphibian Man (1962),The Andromeda Nebula (1967),Ivan Vasilyevich (1973),Heart of a Dog (1988),Sannikov's Land (1974) andElectronic (1980) were filmed as well.

There were also numerous adaptations of foreign science fiction books, most frequently, byJules Verne,Stanislaw Lem andRay Bradbury. Noteworthy films based on original scripts include more comedic or lighthearted titles, such as theabsurdist comedyKin-dza-dza! (1986) and the children's space opera duologyMoscow-Cassiopeia (1973) andTeens in the Universe (1974).

Despite the genre's popularity, the Soviet Union had very few media dedicated solely to science fiction, and most of them werefanzines, released by SF fan clubs. SF short stories were usually present in eitherpopular science magazines, such asTekhnika Molodezhi,Vokrug sveta andUralsky Sledopyt, or in literary anthologies, such asMir Priklyucheniy, that also included adventure, history and mystery.

Soviet supernatural fiction

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Literary fairy tales

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Supernatural fiction in the Soviet Union was represented primarily byliterary fairy tales. Some of the early Soviet children's prose was loose adaptations of foreign fairy tales unknown in contemporary Russia.Alexey N. Tolstoy wroteBuratino, a light-hearted and shortened adaptation ofCarlo Collodi'sPinocchio.Alexander Volkov introduced more Western fairy tale stylings to Soviet children with his loose translation ofFrank L. Baum'sThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published asThe Wizard of the Emerald City, and then wrote a series of five sequels, creatively unaffiliated with Baum. Another notable author wasLazar Lagin withOld Khottabych, a children's tale about an Arab genie Khottabych bound to serve a Soviet schoolboy.

Literary fantasy

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Any sort of literature that dealt seriously with thesupernatural, eitherhorror, adult-oriented fantasy ormagic realism, was unwelcomed by Soviet censors. Until the 1980s very few books in these genres were written, and even fewer were published, although earlier books, such as by Gogol, were not banned. Of the rare exceptions, Bulgakov inMaster and Margarita (not published in author's lifetime), the Strugatskies inMonday Begins on Saturday andVladimir Orlov inDanilov, the Violist introduced magic and mystical creatures into contemporary Soviet reality in a satirical and fabulous manner. Another exception was early Soviet writerAlexander Grin, who wrote romantic tales, both realistic and fantastic. Magic and other fantasy themes occasionally appeared in theatrical plays byEvgeny Shvarts,Grigory Gorin andMikhail Bulgakov. Their plays were family-orientedfables, where supernatural elements served as anallegory. The supernatural horror genre, by contrast, was almost completely eliminated by censors' demands for every media to be modest andfamily-friendly.

Films

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A 1935 children's fantasy movieThe New Gulliver combined live action withstop-motion animation

Fantasy, mythology and folklore were often present in Soviet film and animation, especially children's. Most films were adaptations of traditional fairy tales and myths, both Russian and foreign. But there were also many adaptations of stories byAlexander Pushkin,Nikolai Gogol,Rudyard Kipling,Astrid Lindgren,Alan Alexander Milne, among many others.

There were numerous fantasy feature films byAlexander Rou (Kashchey the Deathless,Maria the Magic Weaver,Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors, etc.) andAlexander Ptushko (The New Gulliver,Sadko,Ilya Muromets,Sampo, etc.). Ptushko also wroteViy the most famous (and arguably the only "true") Sovietsupernatural horror film. Fantasy animated features were produced by directors likeLev Atamanov (Snow Queen,Scarlet Flower, etc.),Ivan Ivanov-Vano (Humpbacked Horse,Snow Maiden, etc.), andAlexandra Snezhko-Blotskaya (The Enchanted Boy,Golden Cockerel, numerous adaptations ofGreek mythology).

The late Soviet era saw a number of adult-orientedfabulous films, close tomagic realism. They were written by Shvartz (An Ordinary Miracle,Cain XVIII), Gorin (Formula of Love,The Very Same Munchhausen), and Strugatskies (Magicians); most of them were directed byMark Zakharov.

Several Soviet fantasy films were co-produced with foreign studios. Most notably,Mio in the Land of Faraway (1987, co-produced with USA and Sweden) was shot by a Soviet crew in the English language, and featuredChristoper Lee andChristian Bale. Other examples includeThe Story of Voyages (1983, co-produced with Czechoslovakia and Romania) andSampo (1959, co-produced with Finland).

Post-Soviet period

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Literature

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Metro 2033 stand atIgromir exhibition in Moscow, 2009

From the 1990s to this day,fantasy and science fiction are among the best-selling literature in Russia.

The fall of state censorship in the late 1980s allowed publishing of numerous translations of Western books and films that were previously unreleased in Russia. A new wave of writers rediscoveredhigh fantasy and was influenced withJohn R. R. Tolkien,Robert E. Howard and, more recently,George R. R. Martin. While the majority of Russian fantasy writers, such asNick Perumov,Vera Kamsha,Alexey Pekhov andTony Vilgotsky, followed the Western tradition with its archetypal Norse or Anglo-Saxon settings, some others, most notablyMaria Semenova andYuri Nikitin, preferRussian mythology as inspiration.Comic fantasy is also popular, with authors such asMax Frei,Andrey Belyanin andOlga Gromyko.Urban andgothic fantasy, virtually absent in the Soviet Union, became notable in modern Russia after the success ofSergey Lukyanenko'sNight Watch andVadim Panov'sSecret City.Magic realism is represented byMaria Galina andLyudmila Petrushevskaya.Sergey Malitsky is also a notable author with his own distinctive style.

In science fiction, with communist censorship gone, many various portrayals of the future appeared, including dystopias.Post-apocalyptic fiction,time travel andalternate history are among the most popular genres, represented by authors likeVyacheslav Rybakov,Yuri Nikitin andYulia Latynina among many others. Overuse of fish-out-of-water plots for time travel and parallel worlds led Russian SF&F journalists to coin the ironic termpopadanets (Rus. попаданец, lit.getter-into) for such characters. There are still many writers of traditional space-related science fiction includingspace operas, such asAlexander Zorich (Tomorrow War series), Lukyanenko (Lord from Planet Earth) andAndrey Livadny, among others. The late 2000s and early 2010s saw a rise of RussianSteampunk, with such books asAlexey Pekhov'sMockingbird (2009),Vadim Panov'sHermeticon (2011), andCetopolis (2012) by Gray F. Green (a collective pen name).

Some of the modern Russian-language SF&F is written inUkraine,[18] especially in its "sci-fi capital",Kharkiv,[19] home toH. L. Oldie,Alexander Zorich,Yuri Nikitin andAndrey Valentinov. Many others hail fromKyiv, includingMarina and Sergey Dyachenko[20] andVladimir Arenev. Belarusian authors, such as Olga Gromyko, Kirill Benediktov, Yuri Brayder and Nikolai Chadovich, also contributed to the genres. Some authors, namely Kamsha, Dyachenkos and Frei, were born in Ukraine and moved to Russia at some point. Most Ukrainian and Belarusian SF&F authors write in Russian, which gives them access to a broad Russophone audience of the post-Soviet countries, and usually publish their books via Russian publishers such asEksmo,Azbuka [ru], andAST.

In the post-Soviet fantasy and science fiction, the extensive serializing of successful formulas has become usual. Most notable are the two postapocalyptic book series based on theS.T.A.L.K.E.R. computer game andMetro 2033 novel, both of which featured a well-developed universe. TheS.T.A.L.K.E.R. book series' features are heavy branding and almost negligible influence of the actual writer's name on individual novels (also, a TV show is in development).[21] And thoughMetro 2033 raised its creatorDmitry Glukhovsky to national fame, it quickly developed into a franchise, with over 15 books published by various authors[22] and spanned a tie-invideogame.

Movies

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Director/actorFeodor Bondarchuk at the set ofThe Inhabited Island, the most expensive Russian sci-fi film at the time. Bondarchuk also directed the highest-grossing Russian sci-fi film,Attraction

Production of science fiction and fantasy films in modern Russia dropped in comparison to Soviet cinema, due to high costs of visual effects. Throughout the 1990s, virtually no movies in these genres were made. In the 2000s and 2010s, however, Russia once again produced a number of films.

Most of them were based on books, notably by Sergey Lukyanenko (Night Watch,Day Watch,Asiris Nuna), Bulychov (Alice's Birthday), the Strugatsky brothers' (The Inhabited Island,Ugly Swans,Hard to be a God), Semyonova (Wolfhound of the Grey Hound Clan) and Gogol (Viy).

A stand-out in animation is the 2010 steampunk short "Invention of Love" ("Изобретение любви") by Andrey Shushkov.

A number of children's fairy tale films and animations were based on Russian mythology and history, most of them byMelnitsa Animation Studio (most notably,The Three Bogatyrs franchise andPrince Vladimir). In 2014, the Soviet classicKin-dza-dza was remade into a family-friendly animationKu! Kin-dza-dza.

Movies based on original scripts were rare until mid-2010, but since then, the situation has changed. Original plots include themockumentaryFirst on the Moon, the time travel dramaWe are from the Future, cyberpunk actionHardcore Henry, the science fiction dramaAttraction,superhero filmsBlack Lightning andZaschitniki.Timur Bekmambetov andFyodor Bondarchuk have been amongst the most influential producers and directors in the recent period.

Other media

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Russian video game developers also contributed to the genres. Examples include the fantasy-basedMMORPGAllods Online, the turn-based strategy gameEtherlords, and the science fiction game RTSPerimeter, among many others.

In modern Russia, a notable award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine and internet site isMir Fantastiki, whileEsli andPolden, XXI vek [ru] have closed down after theGreat Recession. Ukrainian magazines, such asRBG-Azimuth orRealnost Fantastiki, were mostly Russophone. Among websites,Fantlab.ru andMirf.ru are considered the most influential according to Roscon Award.

Subgenres

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Space opera

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Thespace opera subgenre was less developed in Russian speculative fiction. In the Soviet Union both state censors and "highbrow" intelligentsia writers viewed it unfavorably.[citation needed]

One of the earliest interplanetary wars in Russian fiction was described in the novel "Catastrophe" (Катастрофа) published in Berlin by Russian emigre writer Н. Тасин (Н.Я. Коган).[23] The first (and for the long time the only) true Soviet space opera wasFlaming Abysses (Russian:Пылающие бездны) by Nikolay Mukhanov (Николай Муханов) published in 1924. While of low literary and scientific qualities, it was a fascinating and entertaining read. After a period of friendship of the Earthlings and the ancient race of Martians, a war erupts for a newly discovered resource, with numerous kinds ofdeath rays and destructions of satellites.[23] With some non-notable exceptions, the next space opera was published only in 1960, the novelGriada by Alexander Kolpakov (Александра Колпаков). It had a firmly established bad reputation (not without reason), it had quickly become a sought-for book of high demand, although it did not reach the cult status. Written during "Khrushchev's Thaw" The novel boldly broke the limits of ideologically proscribed "close-range science fiction [ru]", following the path ofIvan Yefremov'sAndromeda Nebula with its travel far beyond the Solar System, while still within the framework of communist utopia, adherence to scientific veracity and without any direct interplanetary encounters. While having no space wars (while dealing with an alien civilization),Griada is described as space opera due to its mind-shattering distances, travel to another universe, using of powers that defy any laws of physics,planetary romance and fast-paced adventure.[24]

Griada was followed bySergey Snegov'sHumans as Gods trilogy (1966–1977), among others.

Reception

[edit]

The popularity of Russian science fiction and fantasy considerably increased in Poland by the end of the 20th century, as soon as Polish publishers started promoting it.[25]

Anthologies

[edit]

A number of English anthologies of Russian science fiction and fantasy exist:

  • Soviet Science Fiction, Collier Books, 1962, 189pp.
  • More Soviet Science Fiction, Collier Books, 1962, 190pp.
  • Russian Science Fiction, ed. Robert Magidoff, New York University Press, 1964.
  • Russian Science Fiction, 1968, ed. Robert Magidoff, New York University Press, 1968.
  • Russian Science Fiction, 1969, ed. Robert Magidoff, New York University Press, 1969.
  • New Soviet Science Fiction, Macmillan, 1979,ISBN 0-02-578220-7, xi+297pp.
  • Pre-Revolutionary Russian Science Fiction: An Anthology (Seven Utopias and a Dream), ed. Leland Fetzer, Ardis, 1982,ISBN 0-88233-595-2, 253pp.
  • Worlds Apart : An Anthology of Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy, ed. Alexander Levitsky, Overlook, 2007,ISBN 1-58567-819-8, 656pp.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Suvin, Darko. "Russian Science Fiction and Its Utopian Tradition", in Darko Suvin,Metamorphoses of Science Fiction (Yale UP, 1979).
  2. ^Федор Иванович Дмитриев-Мамонов biography at The Russian Philosophy Encyclopedia
  3. ^Nicholas P. Vaslef,"Bulgarin and the Development of the Russian Utopian Genre", The Slavic and East European Journal Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring, 1968), pp. 35-43
  4. ^Vsevolod Revich [ru]. Не быль, но и не выдумка (Фантастика в русской дореволюционной литературе), 1979, Знание
  5. ^The Icon and the Axe: An Interpretive History of Russian Culture by James Billington. Vintage Books (Random House), 1970.
  6. ^Yury Akutin,Александр Вельтман и его роман "Странник" (A.V. and his novelStrannik), 1978 (in Russian).
  7. ^Esteemed Beasts (The Economist, 23 July 1988)
  8. ^McGuire, Patrick L. (1985).Red stars: political aspects of Soviet science fiction. Issue 7 of Studies in speculative fiction. UMI Research Press.
    "The Soviet Union has more professional science fiction writers than any country in the world except the United States and possibly Britain, and many of these writers are talented".
  9. ^abStableford, Brian (2004).Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literature. Scarecrow Press.
  10. ^McGuire, Patrick L. (1985).Red stars: political aspects of Soviet science fiction. Issue 7 of Studies in speculative fiction. UMI Research Press.
  11. ^The QuietusCosmic Communism: Soviet Science Fiction on Film
  12. ^Andrei Lubensky. The full text ofA Short History of Russian "Fantastica" at Wikisource
  13. ^abThe Guardian:Rockets from Russia: great Eastern Bloc science-fiction films
  14. ^Daniel Gerould. On Soviet Science Fiction, in: Science Fiction Studies #31 = Volume 10, Part 3 = November 1983
  15. ^abBudrys, Algis (September 1968)."Galaxy Bookshelf".Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 187–193.
  16. ^Encyclopædia Britannica.Science fiction
  17. ^Russia-IC: Kir Bulychov
  18. ^Oldie, H.L.; Dyachenko, Marina and Sergey; Valentinov, Andrey (2005).Пять авторов в поисках ответа (послесловие к роману "Пентакль") [Five authors in search for answers (an afterword to Pentacle)] (in Russian). Moscow: Eksmo.ISBN 978-5-699-09313-7.

    Г. Л. Олди: "Украиноязычная фантастика переживает сейчас не лучшие дни. ... Если же говорить о фантастике, написанной гражданами Украины в целом, независимо от языка (в основном, естественно, на русском), — то здесь картина куда более радужная. В Украине сейчас работают более тридцати активно издающихся писателей-фантастов, у кого регулярно выходят книги (в основном, в России), кто пользуется заслуженной любовью читателей; многие из них являются лауреатами ряда престижных литературных премий, в том числе и международных".

    H. L. Oldie: "Speculative fiction in Ukrainian is living through a hard time today... Speaking of fiction written by Ukrainian citizens, regardless of language (primarily Russian, of course), there's a brighter picture. More than 30 fantasy and science fiction writers are active here, their books are regularly published (in Russia, mostly), they enjoy the readers' love they deserve; many are recipients of prestigious literary awards, including international".
  19. ^UKRAINE TRAVEL GUIDE
  20. ^Oldie, H.L.; Dyachenko, Marina and Sergey; Valentinov, Andrey (2005).Пять авторов в поисках ответа (послесловие к роману "Пентакль") [Five authors in search for answers (an afterword to Pentacle)] (in Russian). Moscow: Eksmo.ISBN 978-5-699-09313-7.

    Марина Дяченко: "Я считаю себя носителем русского языка, живущим в Украине. По-украински говорю и пишу свободно, но книги сочиняю – на родном".

    Marina Dyachenko: "I consider myself a native Russian speaker who resides in Ukraine. I can freely speak and write in Ukrainian, but my books I write in my native language".
  21. ^Interview with the creators and rights holders of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise, GSC development company
  22. ^Official site of the Metro Universe series (Russian)
  23. ^abЕвгений ХАРИТОНОВ,Полигон — Космос, или Первая советская космоопера
  24. ^Евгений ХАРИТОНОВ,«Гриада»: Space Opera по-советски
  25. ^Witecki, Arkadiusz (2009)."RECEPCJA NAJNOWSZEJ ROSYJSKIEJ LITERATURY SCIENCE FICTION I FANTASY W POLSKIEJ PRASIE OPINIOTWÓRCZEJ NA PRZEŁOMIE STULECI".Przegląd Humanistyczny (in Polish).422 (1):99–112.ISSN 0033-2194.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Darko Suvin. Russian Science Fiction, 1956-1974: A Bibliography. Elizabethtown, NY: Dragon Press, 1976.
  • J. P.Glad, Extrapolations from Dystopia: A Critical Study of Soviet Science FictionPrinceton: Kingston Press, 1982. 223 p.
  • Scott R. Samuel, Soviet Science Fiction: New Critical Approaches. PhD Dissertation, Stanford University, 1982. 134 p.
  • Nadezhda L. Petreson, Fantasy and Utopia in the Contemporary Soviet Novel, 1976-1981.PhD Dissertation, Indiana University, 1986. 260 p.
  • Karla A. Cruise. Soviet Science Fiction, 1909-1926: Symbols, Archetypes and Myths. Master's Thesis, Princeton University, 1988. 71 p.
  • Matthew D. B.Rose, Russian and Soviet Science Fiction: The Neglected Genre.Master's Thesis, The University of Alberta (Canada), 1988.
  • Richard Stites, Revolutionary Dreams: Utopian Vision and Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution. Oxford UP, 1989.
  • Richard P. Terra and Robert M. Philmus. Russian and Soviet Science Fiction in English Translation: A Bibliography, in: Science Fiction Studies #54 = Volume 18, Part 2 = July 1991
  • Anindita Banerjee. The Genesis and Evolution of Science Fiction in fin de siecle Russia, 1880-1921. PhD Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 2000. 324 p.
  • Vitalii Kaplan. A Look Behind the Wall: A Topography of Contemporary Russian Science Fiction,Russian Studies in Literature 38(3): 62-84. Summer 2002. Also in: Russian Social Science Review 44(2): 82-104. March/April 2003.
  • Matthias Schwartz. How "Nauchnaya fantastika" Was Made: The Debates About the Genre of Science Fiction from NEP to High Stalinism, in: Slavic Review 72 (2) = Summer 2013, pp. 224–246.
  • Science Fiction Studies #94 = Volume 31, Part 3 = November 2004. SPECIAL ISSUE: SOVIET SCIENCE FICTION: THE THAW AND AFTER.
  • Park Joon-Sung. Literary Reflections of the Future War: A Study of Interwar Soviet Literature of Military Anticipation. PhD Dissertation, University of Michigan, 2004. 198 p.
  • Alexey Golubev.Affective machines or the inner self? Drawing the boundaries of the female body in the socialist romantic imagination Canadian Slavonic Papers 58, no. 2 (2016)
  • Oleksandr Zabirko, The Magic Spell of Revanchism. Geopolitical Visions in Post-Soviet Speculative Fiction (Fantastika). In The Ideology and Politics Journal, Issue 1(9)/2018, p. 66 – 134.
  • Alex Shvartsman,A Brief History of Russian Science Fiction,Clarkesworld, issue 176, May 2021

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