Politics and Literature in Russia

Abstract

This article deals with the literature of perestroika and focuses on the post-Soviet period. From the period of perestroika onwards, Russian literature, in its three avatars as official Soviet literature, dissident literature in the samizdat and Russian literature published abroad, came under the single category of ‘Russian Literature’. However, many diverse voices continue to exist in this now ‘unified’ literary scenario. The article identifies major movements, themes, critical positions and styles in contemporary Russian literature. It analyses works by major contemporary writers and also examines critical voices in the contemporary literary scene.