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The protestors in Russia (the small number which is still on the streets) likely did not read any Soviet Sci-Fi at all. What they read is Harry Potter. The parable from Soviet Sci-Fi to the current events is quite confusing. It's an attempt to create a narrative where there isn't.
Likely why? You got any real info?
Whenever a reading list gets to the front page of HN, I always find the most interesting books to add from the comments! I did add Roadside Picnic from the link to my list, but thanks commenters for helping me find: - We (very excited about this one given the possible influence to 1984 and Brave New World) - Red Star - Monday Starts on Saturday
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Poland was never part of Soviet union. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union
It was a part of Soviet Bloc though.
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Not exactly Soviet but "We" fits well here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_(novel)
"We" is remarkable in that it describes lots of failure modes of the Bolshevik revolution before they happened.
I originally read Roadside Picnic as a teen, which, at the time, impressed me as an exciting sci-fi adventure. When I re-read it as a young adult, i saw it as a rather depressing tale asking the questions of sacrifice and duty. My other favorite by Strugatskys is A Billion Years Before The End Of The World (translated as Definitely Maybe), which you can read as a somewhat humorous story involving paranormal events, o…
I've had similar thoughts regarding the roadside picnic, the older I am, the more depressing it feels. I would highly recommend another Strugatskys book - 'Monday starts on Saturday', it is pure humor, as opposed to other works of theirs. It's about a soviet scientist that joins government's study on magic. Bureaucracy never been funnier, of course outside of 'The Twelve Tasks of Asterix', 1976.
Pelevin is not a sci-fi writer, and Pelevin is anything but a “soviet” writer. Pelevin is a 100% anti-soviet writer.
The protestors in Russia (the small number which is still on the streets) likely did not read any Soviet Sci-Fi at all. What they read is Harry Potter. The parable from Soviet Sci-Fi to the current events is quite confusing. It's an attempt to create a narrative where there isn't.
"The protestors in Russia (the small number which is still on the streets) likely did not read any Soviet Sci-Fi at all. What they read is Harry Potter." Likely why? You got any real info?
Even now as an adult, sometimes I would dream that I can fly in the same way as Margot flew on top of the streets in Moscow...
It is just one of the greatest books ever, but I am not sure it can be fully understood and appreciated by people that did not spent some time behind the iron curtain...
I originally read Roadside Picnic as a teen, which, at the time, impressed me as an exciting sci-fi adventure. When I re-read it as a young adult, i saw it as a rather depressing tale asking the questions of sacrifice and duty. My other favorite by Strugatskys is A Billion Years Before The End Of The World (translated as Definitely Maybe), which you can read as a somewhat humorous story involving paranormal events, o…
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This is a great comment to illustrate how ideology (especially various brands of nationalism) destroys genuine dialog. Instead of talking about the writers and their works people are now talking about which pigeonhole each writer belongs to. Not because those pigeonholes improve anyone's understanding of the books, mind you. It's a matter of taking credit for their works and applying those credits to the current meta…
> which pigeonhole each writer belongs to That strongly influences, actually directly shapes, what works does the writer or the artist produces.
You're putting the cart before the horse.