Is this the Futu.re? Russian Cosmism and the Construction of an Immor(t)al Utopia

• By using Dmitry Glukhovsky’s 2013 novel Futu.re as framework, this chapter seeks to present and comment on the dystopian motif in recent Russian literature. Holve Ullestad argues that much of what is stirring in this literary field today has roots in a peculiar movement that grew out of the utopian ideas of Russian philosophers Nikolaj Fedorov and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, today known as Russian Cosmism. While dormant for many years, it has now reawakened to find itself at the centre of Russian culture in a new movement, sometimes labelled as The Antiutopia Factory. Throughout this chapter, Hove Ullestad discusses the historical background of these movements in connection with the immense popularity of dystopian narratives in present-day Russia.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Litteraturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- Specific Literatures (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Litteraturvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- General Literary Studies (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Russian Cosmism

Fedorov

Russian literature

Dmitry Glukhovsky

anti-utopia

dystopia

popular culture

speculative fiction

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)