Fantastika: An Update on Science Fiction and Fantasy in Russia

Readers of Russian Studies in Literature may already know that Russia has one of the great world traditions in the genre of science fiction. They may also know that the word fantastika can refer both to science fiction, “nauchnaia fantastika,” and to other kinds of fantasy writing, though fantasy proper was not permitted in the Soviet period and today is usually described with a Russified form of the English, fentezi. Many readers of speculative fiction are fans of both genres, and fantastika continues to be an important part of the Russian Federation’s literary system. This issue contains eight articles on fantastika—some are substantial studies, others briefer reviews or conceptual pieces. Sergei Shickarev’s article “High Waves, Quiet Backwaters” introduces a number of new authors of fantastika, largely from the “Color Wave” of new writers who first appeared in the 2000s and 2010s. Shickarev notes both the importance of anthologies in starting the new movement and the centrality of literature as well as political subtexts in the writing. This links them in principle with such high-concept Soviet era authors as the Strugatsky brothers. Shickarev notes several important journals that publish fantastika and criticism of it. The genre has fragmented in Russia today largely because of the huge number of publications—he