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 ). 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.

Product details

• Authors: Per-Arne Bodin, Bodin Per Arne, Mikhail Suslov
• Assisted by: Per-Arne Bodin (Editor), Bodin Per-Arne (Editor), Mikhail Suslov (Editor), Suslov Mikhail (Editor)
• Publisher: Tauris, I.B.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.10.2018
• EAN: 9781788312288
• ISBN: 978-1-78831-228-8
• No. of pages: 376
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; LITERARY CRITICISM / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, HISTORY / Modern / 21st Century, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / European, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Conspiracy Theories, International Relations, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Russian, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, Conspiracy Theories, History and Archaeology, Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe), USSR, Soviet Union, LITERARY CRITICISM / European / Eastern, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Russian & Soviet, LITERARY CRITICISM / Russian & Soviet