Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

have been part of mainstream Russian literature since the 18th century. Russian fantasy developed from the centuries-old traditions of

Slavic mythology Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Balk ...

and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

. Russian science fiction emerged in the mid-19th century and rose to its

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

during the Soviet era, both in cinema and literature, with writers like the Strugatsky brothers,

Kir Bulychov Kir Bulychev (russian: Кир Булычёв ''Kir Bulychyov 18 October 1934 – 5 September 2003) is a pen name of Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko (И́горь Все́володович Може́йко), a Soviet Russian science fiction writer, c ...

, and Mikhail Bulgakov, among others. Soviet filmmakers, such as Andrei Tarkovsky, also produced many science fiction and fantasy films. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, modern Russia experienced a renaissance of fantasy. 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

In the Russian language, fantasy, science fiction, horror and all other related genres are considered a part of a larger

umbrella term In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ...

, 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". Since there was very little adult-oriented fantasy fiction in Soviet times, Russians did not use a specific term for this genre until Perestroika. 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''). Gothic and supernatural fiction are often referred to as мистика (''mistika'', Russian for

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

Imperial period

18th and early 19th centuries

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-clerical ''A Philosopher Nobleman. The Allegory'' (Дворянин-философ. Аллегория, 1769) is considered prototypical to science fiction. It is a

voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

an ''conte philosophique'' influenced by '' Micromégas''.

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

was a major genre of early Russian speculative fiction. The first utopia in Russian was a short story by

Alexander Sumarokov Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Сумаро́ков; , Moscow – , Moscow) was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonos ...

, "A Dream of Happy Society" (1759). Two early

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

s in form of

imaginary voyage ''Imaginary Voyage'' is a studio album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty. It features guitarist Daryl Stuermer and bassist Tom Fowler (both of whom had played on Ponty’s previous album), along with keyboardist Allan Zavod and drummer ...

are

Vasily Levshin Vasily Alekseyevich Lyovshin (russian: Василий Алексеевич Лёвшин; July 17, 1746 – August 10, 1826) was a Russian writer. Born in Smolensk, he wrote on agricultural and economic subjects and was close to Nikolay Novikov's ...

's ''Newest Voyage'' (1784, also the first Russian "flight" to the Moon) and

Mikhail Shcherbatov Prince Mikhailo Mikhailovich Shcherbatov (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Щерба́тов; 22 July 1733 – 12 December 1790) was a leading ideologue and exponent of the Russian Enlightenment, on the par with Mikhail Lomonosov a ...

's ''Journey to the Land of Ophir''. Pseudo-historical

heroic romance Heroic romances refers to a distinguished class of imaginative literature that flourished in the 17th century, principally in France. Characteristics Today, heroic romances are more often grouped into the larger romance genre than discussed indiv ...

s in classical settings (modeled on Fenelon's ''Telemaque'') by

Fyodor Emin Fyodor, Fedor (russian: Фёдор) or Feodor is the Russian form of the name "Theodore" meaning “God’s Gift”. Fedora () is the feminine form. Fyodor and Fedor are two English transliterations of the same Russian name. It may refer to: Giv ...

, Mikhail Kheraskov, Pavel Lvov and Pyotr Zakharyin were also utopian. ''Ancient Night of the Universe'' (1807), an

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

by Semyon Bobrov, is the first work of

Russian Cosmism Russian cosmism, also cosmism, is a philosophical and cultural movement that emerged in Russia at the turn of the 19th century, and again, at the beginning of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a burst of scientifi ...

. Some of

Faddei Bulgarin Thaddeus Venediktovich Bulgarin (russian: Фаддей Венедиктович Булгарин; Polish Jan Tadeusz Krzysztof Bułharyn, – ), was a Russian writer, journalist and publisher of Polish ancestry. In addition to his newspaper ...

's tales are set in the future, others exploited themes of

hollow earth The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...

and space flight, as did

Osip Senkovsky Osip Ivanovich Senkovsky (russian: О́сип Ива́нович Сенко́вский), born Józef Julian Sękowski ( in Antagonka, near Vilnius – in Saint Petersburg), was a Polish-Russian orientalist, journalist, and entertainer. Life ...

's ''Fantastic Voyages of Baron Brambeus''. Authors of Gothic stories included Aleksandr Bestuzhev with his German ''couleur locale'', Sergey Lyubetsky, Vladimir Olin, Alexey K. Tolstoy, Elizaveta Kologrivova and

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

("Stoss"). By the mid-19th century

s to space had become popular chapbooks, such as ''Voyage 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 and ''Voyage in the Sun'' (1846) by Demokrit Terpinovich. Popular literature used fantastic motifs like demons (

Rafail Zotov Rafail Mikhaylovich Zotov (russian: Рафаил Михайлович Зотов, 1795, — September 29, 1871) was a Russian playwright, novelist, journalist, translator and theatre critic. The playwright Vladimir Zotov was his son. Born in Psk ...

's ''Qin-Kiu-Tong''),

invisibility Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light i ...

(Ivan Shteven's ''Magic Spectacles'') and shrinking men (

Vasily Alferyev Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy ( Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to '' Basil''. It may refer to: * Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 *Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince ...

's ''Picture'').

Hoffmann Hoffmann is a German language, German surname. People A *Albert Hoffmann (horticulturist), Albert Hoffmann (1846–1924), German horticulturist *Alexander Hoffmann (politician), Alexander Hoffmann (born 1975), German politician *Arthur Hoffmann ...

's fantastic tales influenced east European writers including Ukrainian writer

Nikolay Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

, Russian writers Antony Pogorelsky, Nikolay Melgunov, Vladimir Karlgof, Nikolai Polevoy,

Aleksey Tomofeev Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, Aleksei, or Aleksey (russian: Алексе́й ; bg, Алексей ) is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek ''Aléxios'' (), meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin ...

, Konstantin Aksakov and

Vasily Ushakov Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian language, Russian: wikt:Василий, Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek language, Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil (name)#Given name, Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili ...

. Supernatural folk tales were stylized by Orest Somov, Vladimir Olin,

Mikhail Zagoskin Mikhail Nikolayevich Zagoskin (russian: Михаил Николаевич Загоскин; July 25, 1789 – July 5, 1852) was a Russian writer of social comedies and historical novels. Zagoskin was born in the village of Ramzay in Penza Oblast. ...

and Nikolay Bilevich.

Vladimir Odoevsky Prince Vladimir Fyodorovich Odoyevsky (russian: Влади́мир Фёдорович Одо́евский, p=ɐˈdojɪfskʲɪj; Владимир Федорович Одоевский. Библиографический указатель. Энц ...

, a romantic writer influenced by Hoffmann, wrote on his vision of the future and scientific progress as well as many Gothic tales. Alexander Veltman, along with his folk romances (''

Koschei Koschei ( rus, Коще́й, r=Koshchey, p=kɐˈɕːej), often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless" (russian: Коще́й Бессме́ртный), is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore. The most common feature o ...

the Immortal'', 1833) and hoffmanesque satiric tales (''New Yemelya or, Metamorphoses'', 1845), in 1836 published ''The forebears of Kalimeros: Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon'', the first Russian novel to feature

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

. In the book, the main character rides to ancient Greece on a

hippogriff The hippogriff, or sometimes spelled hippogryph ( el, Ἱππόγρυπας), is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse. It was invented by Ludovico Ariosto in his ''Orlando Furioso'', at the beginning o ...

to meet

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

and

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. In ''Year 3448'' (1833), a Heliodoric love romance set in the future, a traveler visits an imaginary country Bosphorania and sees social and technological advances of the 35th century. File:Портрет Гоголя.jpg, Nikolai Gogol File:Kiprensky Pushkin.jpg,

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

File:Aleksey K Tolstoy.jpg, Alexey K. Tolstoy File:Odoevsky vladimir.jpg,

File:Bulgarin Faddei.jpg,

Late 19th - early 20th century

Second half of the 19th century saw the rise of

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

. However, fantasies with a scientific rationale by Nikolai Akhsharumov and Nikolai Vagner stand out during this period, as well as

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...

's "mysterious tales" and Vera Zhelikhovsky's occult fiction. Mikhail Mikhailov's story "Beyond History" (published in 1869), a pre-

Darwinian Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

fantasy on the descent of man, is an early example of prehistoric fiction. Fictional accounts of prehistoric men were written by anthropologists and popular science writers ("Prehistoric Man", 1890, by Wilhelm Bitner, ''The First Artist'', 1907, by Dmitry Pakhomov, ''Tale of a Mammoth and an Ice-Man'', 1909, by Pyotr Dravert, ''Dragon's Victims'', 1910, by

Vladimir Bogoraz Vladimir Germanovich Bogoraz (russian: Влади́мир Ге́рманович Богора́з), who was born Natan Mendelevich Bogoraz (russian: Ната́н Ме́нделевич Богора́з) and used the literary pseudonym N. A. Tan ( ...

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin ( rus, Михаи́л Евгра́фович Салтыко́в-Щедри́н, p=mʲɪxɐˈil jɪvˈɡrafəvʲɪtɕ səltɨˈkof ɕːɪˈdrʲin; – ), born Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov and known during ...

's satires use a fantastic and

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

element (''The History of a Town'' and prose fables). The plot of ''Animal Mutiny'' (published 1917) by historian

Nikolay Kostomarov Mykola Ivanovych Kostomarov or Nikolai Ivanovich Kostomarov (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Костома́ров, ; uk, Микола Іванович Костомаров, ; May 16, 1817, vil. Yurasovka, Voronezh Governorate, ...

is similar to that of

Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitari ...

's ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to c ...

''. Some of Fyodor Dostoevsky's short works also use fantasy: '' The Dream of a Ridiculous Man'' (about the corruption of the

n society on another planet), a doppelgänger novella '' The Double: A Petersburg Poem'',

mesmer Franz Anton Mesmer (; ; 23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorised the existence of a natural energy transference occurring between all animated and inanimate objects; this he called "anim ...

ic ''The Landlady'', and a comic horror story ''

Bobok "Bobok" (russian: Бобок, ''Bobok'') is a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky that first appeared in 1873 in his self-published '' Diary of a Writer''. The story consists largely of a dialogue between recently deceased occupants of graves in a c ...

''. Dostoevsky's magazine ''Vremya'' was first to publish Russian translations of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

's stories in 1861. Alexander Kondratyev's prose included mythological novel ''Satyress'' (1907) and collection of mythological stories ''White Goat'' (1908), both based on Greek myths. ''Journeys and Adventures of Nicodemus the Elder'' (1917) by Aleksey Skaldin is a

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

fantasy.

Utopias

Nikolai Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was ...

's influential '' What 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 philosopher Alexander Bogdanov, '' Red Star'' and ''Engineer Menni''. Some plays of another Marxist,

Anatoly Lunacharsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (russian: Анато́лий Васи́льевич Лунача́рский) (born Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov, – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Bolshevik Soviet People ...

, propose his philosophical ideas in fantastic disguise. Other socialist utopias include ''Diary of André'' (1897) by pseudonymous A. Va-sky, ''On Another Planet'' (1901) by Porfiry Infantyev, and ''Spring Feast'' (1910) by Nikolay Oliger.

Alexander Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (russian: link=no, Александр Иванович Куприн; – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''A ...

wrote a short story of the same kind, ''Toast'' (1907). Among others, Vladimir Solovyov wrote ''Tale of the Anti-Christ'' (1900), an ecumenical utopia. ''Earthly Paradise'' (1903) by

Konstantin Mereschkowski Konstantin Sergeevich Mereschkowski ( rus, Константи́н Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – 9 January 1921) was a prominent Russian biologist and botanist, active mainly around Kazan, Tat ...

is an anthropological utopia. ''Great War Between Men and Women'' (1913) by Sergey Solomin and ''Women Uprisen and Defeated'' (1914) by Polish writer

Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski (27 May 1876 – 3 January 1945) was a Polish writer, explorer, university professor, and anticommunist political activist. He is known for his books about Lenin and the Russian Civil War in which he participated. ...

(written and published in Russian) is about a feminist revolution. Other feminist utopias include short farces ''Women on Mars'' (1906) by Victor Bilibin and ''Women Problem'' (1913) by Nadezhda Teffi. ''In Half a Century'' (1902) by Sergey Sharapov is a patriarchal Slavophile utopia, and ''Land of Bliss'' (1891) by Crimean Tatar

Ismail Gasprinski Ismail bey Gasprinsky (also written as Gaspirali and Gasprinski: crh, İsmail Gaspıralı, russian: Исмаи́л Гаспри́нский ''Ismail Gasprinskii''; – ) was a Crimean Tatar intellectual, educator, publisher and Pan-Turkist po ...

is a Muslim utopia. Voluminous ''A Created Legend'' (1914) by another Symbolist

Fyodor Sologub Fyodor Sologub (russian: Фёдор Сологу́б, born Fyodor Kuzmich Teternikov, russian: Фёдор Кузьми́ч Тете́рников, also known as Theodor Sologub; – 5 December 1927) was a Russian Symbolist poet, novelist, transl ...

is a utopia full of science fictional wonders close to magic.

Genre fiction

Entertainment fiction adopted scientistic themes, such as resurrection of an ancient Roman (''Extraordinary Story of a Resurrected Pompeian'' by

Vasily Avenarius Vasily Petrovich Avenarius (russian: Василий Петрович Авенариус, born ''Wilhelm Heinrich Appolonius Avenarius'' 10 October 1839 - 9 November 1923) was a Russian writer and memoirist. Born in Tsarskoye Selo to a Lutheran pa ...

), 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 by

Andrey Zarin Andrey, Andrej or Andrei (in Cyrillic script: Андрей, Андреј or Андрэй) is a form of Andreas/ Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: *Andrei of Polotsk ( – 1399), Lithuanian nobleman *A ...

), Antarctic city-states (''Under the Glass Dome'', 1914, by Sergey Solomin), an elixir of longevity (''Brothers of the Saint Cross'', 1898, by Nikolay Shelonsky), and ''

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...

'' (1913, by

Larisa Reisner Larissa Mikhailovna Reissner (russian: Лариса Михайловна Рейснер; 1 (13) May 1895 – 9 February 1926) was a Russian writer and revolutionary. She is best known for her leadership roles on the side of the Bolsheviks in ...

Spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...

remained a central science fiction topic since the 1890s in ''In the Ocean of Stars'' (1892) by Anany Lyakide, ''In the Moon'' (1893) and ''Dreams of Earth and Skies'' (1895) by

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (russian: Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский , , p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj , a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) ...

, ''Voyage to Mars'' (1901) by Leonid Bogoyavlensky, "In Space" (1908) by Nikolay Morozov, ''Sailing Ether'' (1913) by Boris Krasnogorsky and its sequel, ''Islands of Ethereal Ocean'' (1914, co-authored by astronomer

Daniil Svyatsky Daniil (russian: Даниил) is a Russian language, Russian masculine given name; equivalent to that of the English given name Daniel. Notable examples People named Daniil include: Arts and literature *Daniil Andreyev (1906–1959), Russian wri ...

). In the 1910s Russian audience was interested in horror. ''Fire-Blossom'', a supernatural thriller by

Alexander Amfiteatrov Alexander Valentinovich Amfiteatrov (Amphiteatrof) (russian: Алекса́ндр Валенти́нович Амфитеа́тров); (December 26, 1862 – February 26, 1938) was a Russian writer, novelist, and historian. Biography Born a prie ...

and

Vera Kryzhanovsky Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarra ...

's occult romances, that combined sci-fi and reactionary elitist utopia, were popular. Bram Stoker's '' Dracula'' was imitated by pseudonymous "b. Olshevri" (= "more lies" in Russian) in ''Vampires'', even before the original was translated to Russian. Early Alexander Grin's stories are mostly psychological horror (influenced by

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by ...

), though later he drifted to fantasy. Future progress was described in fiction by scientists: "Wonders of Electricity" (1884) by electric engineer

Vladimir Chikolev Vladimir Nikolaevich Chikolev (23 July 23 August 1845, Peski - 22 February March 1898, St Petersburg) was a Russian scientist who specialised in electrical engineering. He founded the company Elektrotekhnik. He attended the Moscow Alexander ...

, ''Automatic Underground Railway'' (1902) by Alexander Rodnykh, and "Billionaire's Testament" (1904) by biologist Porfiry Bakhmetyev.

Future war ''Future War'' is a 1997 American direct-to-video science fiction film about an escaped human slave fleeing his cyborg masters and seeking refuge on Earth. It was lampooned in a 1999 episode of ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. Plot A spaceship ...

stories were produced by the military (''Cruiser "Russian Hope"'' (1887) and ''Fatal War of 18..'' (1889) by retired navy officer Alexander Belomor, ''Big Fist or Chinese-European War'' (1900) by K. Golokhvastov, ''Queen of the World'' (1908) and ''Kings of the Air'' (1909) by navy officer Vladimir Semyonov, "War of Nations 1921-1923" (1912) by Ix, ''War of the "Ring" with the "Union"'' (1913) by P. R-tsky, and ''End of War'' (1915) by Lev Zhdanov). ''Threat to the World'' (1914) by Ivan Ryapasov (who styled himself "Ural Jules Verne") is similar to Jules Verne's The Begum's Fortune. Jules Verne was so popular that Anton Chekhov wrote a parody on him, and Konstantin Sluchevsky produced a sequel - "

Captain Nemo Captain Nemo (; later identified as an Indian, Prince Dakkar) is a fictional character created by the French novelist Jules Verne (1828–1905). Nemo appears in two of Verne's science-fiction classics, ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' ...

in Russia" (1898). File:Александр Грин.jpg, Alexander Grin File:A A Bogdanov.jpg, Alexander Bogdanov File:Valery Bryusov c. 1900.jpg,

Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...

Soviet period

Soviet science fiction

The Soviet era was the

of Russian science fiction. Soviet writers were innovative, numerous and prolific, 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

The birth of Soviet science fiction was spurred by

scientific revolution The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transfo ...

, industrialisation, mass education and other dramatic social changes that followed the Russian Revolution. Early Soviet authors from the 1920s, such as Alexander Belyaev,

Grigory Adamov Grigory Borisovich Adamov (russian: link=no, Григорий Борисович Адамов; born Abram Borukhovich Gibs; Абрам Борухович Гибс; May 18, 1886, Kherson, then Russian Empire, now Ukraine, - June 14, 1945, Moscow, U ...

Vladimir Obruchev Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич О́бручев; , Klepenino near Rzhev, Tver Oblast, Russian Empire – June 19, 1956, Moscow, USSR) was a Russian and Soviet geologist who specialize ...

and Alexey N. Tolstoy, stuck to

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

. They openly embraced influence from the genre's western classics, such as Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle and especially

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Science fiction books from the 1920s included science predictions, adventure and space travel, often with a hue of ''

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

'' agenda and satire against capitalism. Alexey N. Tolstoy's ''

Aelita ''Aelita'' (russian: Аэли́та, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent science fiction film directed by Yakov Protazanov and produced at the Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's 1923 ...

'' (1923), one of the most influential books of the era, featured two Russians raising a revolution on Mars. Tolstoy's '' Engineer 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's '' The Air Seller'' (1929) is a megalomaniac capitalist who plots to steal all the world's atmosphere. Belyaev's ''Battle in Ether'' (1928) is about a future world war, fought between communist Europe and capitalist America. The novel '' Professor 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 in ''The Last Man from Atlantis'' (1926), and Obruchev is best known for '' Plutonia'' (written in 1915, before Revolution, but only published in 1924), set inside

hollow Earth The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...

where dinosaurs and other extinct species survived, as well as for his other "lost world" novel, ''

Sannikov Land Sannikov Land (russian: Земля Санникова) was a phantom island in the Arctic Ocean. Its supposed existence became something of a myth in 19th-century Russia. History Yakov Sannikov and Matvei Gedenschtrom claimed to have seen the ...

'' (1924). Two notable exclusions from Soviet 'Wellsian' tradition were

Yevgeny Zamyatin Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin ( rus, Евге́ний Ива́нович Замя́тин, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ zɐˈmʲætʲɪn; – 10 March 1937), sometimes anglicized as Eugene Zamyatin, was a Russian author of science fictio ...

, author of dystopian novel '' We'' (1924), and Mikhail Bulgakov, who contributed to science fiction with ''

Heart of a Dog ''Heart of a Dog'' (russian: links=no, italic=yes, Собачье сердце, Sobachye serdtse) is a novella by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. A biting satire of Bolshevism, it was written in 1925 at the height of the NEP period, when commu ...

'' (1925), '' The Fatal Eggs'' (1925) and '' Ivan 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. 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 adopt

socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

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 were Alexander Kazantsev, Georgy Martynov, Vladimir Savchenko and

Georgy Gurevich Georgy may refer to: * Georgy (given name) *Diminituve for Georgina *Georgy, the protagonist in '' Georgy Girl'' novel, film, and song * ''Georgy'' (musical), a musical from the novel ''Georgy Girl'' See also * Georgi (disambiguation) * Georgiy, a ...

. 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, namely '' Planet of the Storms'' (1962) and '' The Sky Beckons'' (1959), were pirated, re-edited and released in the West under different titles.The Guardian
Rockets from Russia: great Eastern Bloc science-fiction films
/ref>

Late Soviet era

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), Jo ...

described postwar Russian science fiction as akin to the style of

Hugo Gernsback Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish–American editor and magazine publisher, whose publications including the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as pub ...

: "Ah, Comrade, here among the marvels of the year 2000 ... we are free to discuss dialectical materialism in total tranquility". In the second half of the 20th century, Soviet science fiction authors, inspired by the Thaw period of the 1950 and 1960s and the country's space pioneering, developed a more varied and complex approach. The liberties of the genre offered Soviet writers a loophole for free expression.

Social science fiction Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropol ...

, concerned with philosophy,

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

n and dystopian ideas, became the prevalent subgenre; Budrys said in 1968, when reviewing a collection translated into English, that Russian authors had "discovered John Campbell", with stories that "read like they were from the back pages of circa 1950 ''

Astounding ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

''s". 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 and dystopian plots were usually placed outside Earth – on underdeveloped planets, in the distant past, or on parallel 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 with

Ivan Yefremov Ivan Antonovich (real patronymic Antipovich) Yefremov ( ru , Ива́н Анто́нович (Анти́пович) Ефре́мов; April 23, 1908 – October 5, 1972; last name sometimes transliterated as Efremov) was a Soviet paleonto ...

's '' Andromeda'' (1957), a

set in the very distant future. Yefremov rose to fame with his

n views on the future, as well as on

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

in his

historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...

. He was soon followed by a duo of brothers

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky (russian: Аркадий Натанович Стругацкий; 28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky ( ru , Борис Натанович Стругацкий; 14 A ...

, who have taken a more critical approach: their books included darker themes and social satire. The Strugatskies are best known for their Noon Universe novels, such as ''

Hard to be a God ''Hard to Be a God'' (russian: Трудно быть богом, translit=''Trudno byt' bogom'') is a 1964 science-fiction novel by the Soviet writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, set in the Noon Universe. Premise and themes The novel follow ...

'' (1964) and ''

Prisoners of Power ''Prisoners of Power'', also known as ''Inhabited Island'' (russian: Обитаемый остров, translit=''Obitaemyy ostrov'', ), is a science fiction novel written by Soviet authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. It was written in 1969 and or ...

'' (1969). A recurring theme in Strugatskies' fiction were

progressor The Noon Universe ( Russian term: "Мир Полудня" or "Мир Полдня" – "World of Noon"; also known as the “Wanderers’ Universe”) is a fictional future setting for a number of hard science fiction novels written by Arkady and B ...

s: 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 first science fantasy, the ''

Monday Begins on Saturday ''Monday Begins on Saturday'' (russian: Понедельник начинается в субботу) is a 1965 science fantasy novel by Soviet writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, with illustrations by Yevgeniy Migunov. Set in a fictional to ...

'' trilogy (1964), and their Post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic novel ''Roadside Picnic'' (1971) is often believed to have been a prediction of the Chernobyl disaster. Another notable late Soviet writer was

, whose books featured

and Parallel universe (fiction), parallel worlds, and themes like antimilitarism and environmentalism, environment protection. The space opera subgenre was less developed, because both state censors and "highbrow" intelligentsia writers viewed it unfavorably. Nevertheless, there were moderately successful attempts to adapt space westerns to Soviet soil. The first was Alexander Kolpakov with "Griada" (1960), followed by Sergey Snegov with the ''Humans as Gods'' trilogy (1966–1977), among others. 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, who, along with his adult books, created ''Alisa Selezneva'', a children's space adventure series about a teenage girl from the future. Others include Nikolay Nosov with his books about dwarf Neznayka, Evgeny Veltistov, who wrote about The Adventures of the Elektronic, robot boy Electronic, Vitaly Melentyev, Yan Larri, Vladislav Krapivin, and Vitaly Gubarev.

Films and other media

Soviet cinema developed a tradition of science fiction films, with directors like Pavel Klushantsev, Andrey Tarkovsky, Konstantin Lopushansky, Vladimir Tarasov, Richard Viktorov and Gennady Tischenko. Many science fiction books, especially children's, were made into films, animation and TV. The most adapted Russian SF author was Bulychov; of the numerous films based on ''Alisa Selezneva'' stories, animation ''Mystery of the Third Planet'' (1981) is probably the most popular. Other Bulychov-based films include ''Per Aspera Ad Astra (film), Per Aspera Ad Astra'' (1981), ''Guest from the Future'' (1985), ''Two Tickets to India'' (1985), ''Pereval, The Pass'' (1988) and ''The Witches Cave'' (1990). Andrey Tarkovsky's ''Stalker (1979 film), Stalker'' (1979) was written by the Strugatskys, and is loosely based on their ''Roadside Picnic''; there were also less successful films based on ''Dead Mountaineer's Hotel (film), Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'' (1979) and ''Hard to Be a God (1989 film), Hard to Be a God'' (1989). ''Aelita (film), Aelita'' (1924) was the first Soviet SF film, and ''Engineer Garin'' was made into film twice, The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin (film), in 1965 and Failure of Engineer Garin, in 1973. ''Amphibian Man (film), Amphibian Man'' (1962), ''The Andromeda Nebula'' (1967), '' Ivan Vasilyevich'' (1973), ''Heart of a Dog (1988 film), Heart of a Dog'' (1988), ''The Sannikov Land (film), Sannikov's Land'' (1974) and ''The Adventures of Electronik, Electronic'' (1980) were filmed as well. There were also numerous adaptations of foreign science fiction books, most frequently, by Jules Verne, Stanislaw Lem and Ray Bradbury. Of the movies based on original scripts, the comedy ''Kin-dza-dza!'' (1986) and children's space opera duology ''Moscow-Cassiopeia'' (1973) and ''Teens in the Universe'' (1974) should be noted. Despite the genre's popularity, the Soviet Union had very few media dedicated solely to science fiction, and most of them were fanzines, released by SF fan clubs. SF short stories were usually present in either popular science magazines, such as ''Tekhnika Molodezhi'', ''Vokrug sveta'' and ''Uralsky Sledopyt'', or in literary anthologies, such as ''Mir Priklyucheniy'', that also included adventure, history and mystery.

Soviet fantasy

Literature

Fantasy fiction in the Soviet Union was represented primarily by children literature, children tales and stage plays. Some of the early Soviet children's prose was loose adaptations of foreign fairy tales unknown in contemporary Russia. Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Alexey N. Tolstoy wrote ''Buratino'', a light-hearted and shortened adaptation of Carlo Collodi's ''Pinocchio''. Alexander Melentyevich Volkov, Alexander Volkov introduced fantasy fiction to Soviet children with his loose translation of Frank L. Baum's ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', published as ''The Wizard of the Emerald City'', and then wrote a series of five sequels, unrelated to Baum. Another notable author was Lazar Lagin with ''Old Khottabych'', a children's tale about an Arab genie Khottabych bound to serve a Soviet schoolboy. Any sort of literature that dealt seriously with the supernatural, either horror fiction, horror, adult-oriented fantasy or magic 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 in ''Master and Margarita'' (not published in author's lifetime), the Strugatskies in ''

'' and Vladimir Orlov (author), Vladimir Orlov in ''Danilov, the Violist'' introduced magic and mystical creatures into contemporary Soviet reality in a satirical and fabulous manner. Another exception was early Soviet writer Alexander Grin, who wrote romantic tales, both realistic and fantastic. Magic and other fantasy themes occasionally appeared in theatrical plays by Evgeny Shvarts, Grigory Gorin and Mikhail Bulgakov. Their plays were family-oriented fables, where supernatural elements served as an allegory. The supernatural horror genre, by contrast, was almost completely eliminated by censors' demands for every media to be modest and family-friendly.

Films

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 by

, Nikolai Gogol, Rudyard Kipling, Astrid Lindgren, Alan Alexander Milne, among many others. There were numerous fantasy feature films by Alexander Rou (''Kashchey the Deathless (film), Kashchey the Deathless, The Magic Weaver, Maria the Magic Weaver, Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors'', etc.) and Alexander Ptushko (''The New Gulliver, Sadko (film), Sadko, Ilya Muromets (film), Ilya Muromets, Sampo (film), Sampo'', etc.). Ptushko also wrote ''Viy (1967 film), Viy'' the most famous (and arguably the only "true") Soviet supernatural horror film. Fantasy animated features were produced by directors like Lev Atamanov (''The Snow Queen (1957 film), Snow Queen, The Scarlet Flower (1952 film), Scarlet Flower'', etc.), Ivan Ivanov-Vano (''The Humpbacked Horse (film), Humpbacked Horse, The Snow Maiden (1952 film), Snow Maiden'', etc.), and Alexandra Snezhko-Blotskaya (''The Enchanted Boy, The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, Golden Cockerel'', numerous adaptations of Greek mythology). The late Soviet era saw a number of adult-oriented Fable, fabulous films, close to magic realism. They were written by Shvartz (''An Ordinary Miracle (1978 film), An Ordinary Miracle, Cain XVIII''), Gorin (''Formula of Love, The Very Same Munchhausen''), and Strugatskies (''Charodei, Magicians''); most of them were directed by Mark 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 featured Christoper Lee and Christian Bale. Other examples include ''The Story of Voyages'' (1983, co-produced with Czechoslovakia and Romania) and ''Sampo (film), Sampo'' (1959, co-produced with Finland).

Most notable Soviet writers

File:Alexander Belayev.jpg, Alexander Belyaev Image:ANTolstoy.jpg, Alexey N. Tolstoy Image:Bulgakov1910s.jpg, Mikhail Bulgakov File:Иван Ефремов 1925.jpeg,

File:Boris Strugatsky Seminar 20060109 02.jpg, Boris Strugatsky File:Kir Bulychev 1997.jpg,

Post-Soviet period

Literature

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 rediscovered high fantasy and was influenced with John R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard and, more recently, George R. R. Martin. While the majority of Russian fantasy writers, such as Nick Perumov, Vera Kamsha, Alexey Pekhov and Tony Vilgotsky, followed the Western tradition with its archetypal Norse or Anglo-Saxon settings, some others, most notably Maria Semenova and Yuri Nikitin (author), Yuri Nikitin, prefer Russian mythology as inspiration. Comic fantasy is also popular, with authors such as Max Frei, Andrey Belyanin and Olga Gromyko. Urban fantasy, Urban and gothic fantasy, virtually absent in the Soviet Union, became notable in modern Russia after the success of Sergey Lukyanenko's ''Night Watch (Lukyanenko novel), Night Watch'' and Vadim Panov's ''Secret City''. Magic realism is represented by Maria Galina and Lyudmila 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,

and alternate history are among the most popular genres, represented by authors like Vyacheslav Rybakov, Yuri Nikitin (author), Yuri Nikitin and Yulia 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 term ''popadanets'' (Rus. попаданец, lit. ''getter-into'') for such characters. There are still many writers of traditional space-related science fiction including space operas, such as Alexander Zorich (''Tomorrow War'' series), Lukyanenko (''Lord from Planet Earth'') and Andrey Livadny, among others. The late 2000s and early 2010s saw a rise of Russian Steampunk, with such books as Alexey Pekhov's ''Mockingbird'' (2009), Vadim Panov's ''Hermeticon'' (2011), and ''Cetopolis'' (2012) by Gray F. Green (a collective pen name). Some of the modern Russian-language SF&F is written in Ukraine, especially in its "sci-fi capital", Kharkiv, home to H. L. Oldie, Alexander Zorich, Yuri Nikitin (author), Yuri Nikitin and Andrey Valentinov. Many others hail from Kyiv, including Marina and Sergey Dyachenko and Vladimir 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 as Eksmo, Azbuka and AST (publisher), AST. 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 the ''S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'' computer game and ''Metro 2033 (novel), Metro 2033'' novel, both of which featured a well-developed universe. The ''S.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). And though ''Metro 2033'' raised its creator Dmitry Glukhovsky to national fame, it quickly developed into a franchise, with over 15 books published by various authors and spanned a tie-in Metro 2033 (video game), videogame.

Movies

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, almost 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 (2004 film), Night Watch, Day Watch (film), Day Watch, Asiris Nuna''), Bulychov (''Alice's Birthday''), the Strugatsky brothers' (''The Inhabited Island, The Ugly Swans (film), Ugly Swans, Hard to Be a God (2013 film), Hard to be a God''), Semyonova (''Wolfhound (2006 film), Wolfhound of the Grey Hound Clan'') and Gogol (''Viy (2014 film), Viy''). A stand-out in animation is the 2010 steampunk short "Invention of Love" (":w:ru:Изобретение любви, 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 by Melnitsa Animation Studio (most notably, The Three Bogatyrs franchise and ''Prince Vladimir (film), Prince Vladimir''). In 2014, the Soviet classic ''Kin-dza-dza'' was remade into a family-friendly animation ''Ku! Kin-dza-dza''. Movies based on original scripts were rare until mid-2010, but since then, the situation has changed. Original plots include the mockumentary ''First on the Moon'', the time travel drama ''Black Hunters, We are from the Future'', cyberpunk action ''Hardcore Henry'', the science fiction drama ''Attraction (2017 film), Attraction'', superhero films ''Black Lightning (2009 film), Black Lightning'' and ''Zaschitniki''. Timur Bekmambetov and Fyodor Bondarchuk have been amongst the most influential producers and directors in the recent period.

Other media

Russian video game developers also contributed to the genres. Examples include the fantasy-based Massively multiplayer online role-playing game, MMORPG Allods Online, the turn-based strategy game Etherlords, and the science fiction game RTS Perimeter (video game), Perimeter, among many others. Science fiction and fantasy magazines, websites and other media became widespread in modern Russia. The largest magazine is ''Mir Fantastiki'', while ''Esli'' and ''Polden, XXI vek'' have closed down after the Great Recession. Ukrainian magazines, such as ''RBG-Azimuth'' or ''Realnost Fantastiki'', were mostly Russophone. Among websites, FantLab, Fantlab.ru and Mirf.ru are considered the most influential according to Roscon Award.

Notable writers

File:Lukianenko, Sergey.jpg, Sergey Lukyanenko File:Мария Семёнова.jpg, Maria Semenova File:Nick Perumov.png, Nick Perumov File:Vera Kamsha MOW Feb-2011.jpg, Vera Kamsha File:Vadim panov 2010.jpg, Vadim Panov File:H. L. Oldie.jpg, H. L. Oldie (Dmitry Gromov and Oleg Ladyzhensky) File:Marina and Sergey Dyachenko.jpg, Marina and Sergey Dyachenko File:Dmitry Glukhovsky MOW 03-2011.jpg, Dmitry Glukhovsky File:Martynchik Svetlana, author of Max Frei idea.jpg, Max Frei (Svetlana Martynchik) File:Latynina Yulia.jpg, Yulia Latynina

Reception

Russian science fiction and fantasy are popular in Poland.

Anthologies

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, , xi+297pp. * ''Pre-Revolutionary Russian Science Fiction'': An Anthology (Seven Utopias and a Dream), ed. Leland Fetzer, Ardis, 1982, , 253pp. * ''Worlds Apart'' : An Anthology of Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy, ed. Alexander Levitsky, Overlook, 2007, , 656pp.

References

External links

Soviet science fiction, in Britannica Online

* [http://files.osa.ceu.hu/holdings/300/8/3/text/56-1-360.shtml "In the Light of the Silvery Sputnik". Notes on Soviet Science Fiction, Soviet Survey. January–March, 1958. I--Past and Present by Walter Z. Laqueur; II -- Fantasy and Reality by Vera Alexandrova; III - East and West by Zeev ben Shlomo]
Elana Gomel. Science Fiction in Russia: From Utopia to New Age

"Russian and East European Science Fiction Resources", 2010
- Slavic Reference Service {{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Science Fiction And Fantasy Russian science fiction, Soviet science fiction, Russian fantasy,

Terminology

Imperial period

18th and early 19th centuries

Late 19th - early 20th century

Utopias

Genre fiction

Soviet period

Soviet science fiction

Early Soviet era

Late Soviet era

Films and other media

Soviet fantasy

Literature

Films

Most notable Soviet writers

Post-Soviet period

Literature

Movies

Other media

Notable writers

Reception

Anthologies

Further reading

References

External links