On Russian Science Fiction

The following articles were scanned from the English language edition of "Fank" Special issue for Volgacon (1991). Please, forgive for scanning errors.

More articles on pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

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A CAT BEFORE TV, or Fantasy for the «poor»

Vladimir Gopman Literature was the first product that fl^ng Into the market among all kinds of art after a long time of struggle waged by the Bo)shevlcs against market. A well selling printed word brings much profit. It soon became clear to money lovers: life Interpretation — is a very tiresome and hard actually winner Job of a master... Oh stop It, what worries you? «bright red flashes were tearing Into pipces, the grim. dark greenish sky of Zain ra. Swiring funnies of the sea of gas were pumping Into themselves the unbounded mass of the star substence. This planet wes unique in the Universe. It was the only one to engender the code of Intellegence... »An<^ so we have a sort of a chaos, generating from something (as we know the matter Is prior) a Universe Intellegence. Its particles are scattered around by the cosmic wind and det Into the mouthes of newly borns with their first sigh and Impart a soul on them; on The other hand when a person dies, a small crystle cloud Is streaming out of him and t? flying to another one. This Is a scheme of the incarnation of souls according to Ernest Malyshev, the author of a fantasy story «The Cosmic Ergruma».
E.Malyshev has been In our literature for more than ayear. He has written a lot of short stories and novels with the titles one morel attractive than another, such as: «Lords of Galaxy», «Orifare Mystery», «OInzaurs Offspring», «Madonna from the Marse». Reading Malyshev Books reminds you of doing the crossword riddi.e. You always come acrooss something very familiar eitherfrom a book by our own author, or some translated author, but you will never guess what this. You feel tftat It Is sort of a comprehensive compilation. Though sometimes It Is rather easy to detemiine the source of Inspiration. SF: «At that night the herzor triumphed thrice over her marble shining, white body. As a rule he succeded to do It not more than one ortwo times. (E.Malyshev «Cosmic Ergruma») Ludowic triumphed thrice that night over her beautiful body slightly glamouring with periy white colour. (Druon «The Poison and the Crown»). They fly on stormfliers, dropfllers, glorvers, switch on blinkers In the dark, defend themselves from the enemies by oglersand kolkks at home and In production practiseulkers, spllncers, Indromectrs.
A reader can shout that this author Is not gifted, but what of that? There are pleanty of books bleng published nowadays under the title SF, just take for example «The Cosmic Prostitute» or «AIDS «Terrorists". But It's clear as far as this deliberate «dust bin» literature Is concerned, «one con have a cursory glance at this miserable bookletts In paper backs on which you can see thouroughly painted details of anatomy. But Malyshev books pretend for a higher lable.
People come Into literature by different ways, E.Malyshev Is energetic and persls-tant. He Is breaking through it by himstelf. While others have some assistance. From June till the end of the year «Books Re/lew» weekly carried the novel «The Life Tree »wrltten by the Professor of Lvov Medic I Institute Vladimir Kuzmenko. The publication was followed by an article saying that «a new talanted writer appeared In our country» his books having all the sings of the burping timely Issues are bound to see the world. «So we read It...
The plot Is trite, the character Is depersonifled and trivial and his pseudo romantic Image remind one of some mosaic fresdoes of space exploreres In the local Culture Houses. The whole conflict of the plot laarranged In such as way so as it could fit the character; a decent earthly man from a communist future from a day aftertomorrow helps good aliens In their struggle against badbeople. This scheme goes back to Tolstoy's Aellta and Is still popular now arpong the proletarian humanism and internationalism and advantages of the Soviet way of life and al this Is being done with the help of SF.
The contents of Kuzmenko's novel isia mixture of a nasty publlslstic trend and Indecent and tastless rhitorlcs, proceeding f •om the author convictions, that he was destined to show the world the highest phllo»ophlcal and moral truths.
As far as the language of the novel Is concorped, according to a very low expression of one witty man. this «It's another problem t»b cry about». Here are some little examples taken at random: «Why are these little girls sip thoughtful!? — thought Sergey. May be because all reserves are consumed at an early yge?"; «His beard and his hair reached such a growth that they hid almost the whole face making open apace only for the eyes and the nose; »She was distinguished from the oihers by sort of a fine nobllness of her face and lines of her body"; «An researcher again woke up In him who seemed to have died for the last months...»
Very sad thoughts appear while reading Kuzmenko's works.
The matter Is that It Is not only due to on',2 more publication earning Into light In the central press a la SF the readers become more and more negative In their attitude towards SF as a subllterature, but on the other hand tht'se authors and editors are being more and more encouraged, as they are apt to tnink that one shouldn't posess the power to write and tnink, It's enough If they are able to make up a plot.
Meanwhile Malyshev's books are beln() sold OK, an.d Kuzmenko's novel was also approved of by the «B.R.» subscribers. It goes without saying that evey book has a reader It deserve and vica versa. But whon such books acquire so many readers It Is becoming a characteristic feature of the p ubilc consciousness.
Being accustomed for many years to a spiritual «bubble gum», the readres now tend to grab every thing that could quench their lust to reading everything wrapped according to S.Lem In «Galaxy robes» without noticing that the.se robes wrap sometimes mere emptiness. The habit to ccinsume an .'?rt substitute has become reflectory. Readers are not In minority. They remind me of a cat sitting before a TV' set: he Is startering at the screen blanckfy without winking his eyes. hie Is looking at the movement of different spots and stripes of colour;.. The eyes are active but the head Is Innactlve...
And the number of the beauty makers are growing. Recently th are appeared another writera Uri Petuhov. Last year he declared aboutthe publication of II volumes collection of his fantasy-adventures, fantasy-detectives, a nd fantasy erotic works. Such works as «The Monstor», «Star Revenge», «The Trap», nave already been releazed, and such books as «Satan's poison» and «Vampires Rebel» are yet to come.
Here we could finish the Inumiratlons since contents of the novdis of Uri Petunov correspond to their titles.
What really distinguishes him among hiscolle'gueslshls language. These are some of their expressions: «This Is all bulshit», «You, s '.hit», «Son of a bitch», ect.
But Petuhov's «artistic» creations are al 1 nothing In cornparason «with his «Journalism». It has become a real peari-hls newsletter «The Voice of the Univers», featuring U.Petuhov a's an editor-in-chief. The main Issues are: Illusnratlona to Petuhov's works; extracts from two novels by U. Petuhov, final results of subscribtlon campaign of Petuhov's collections,.. A new^le tter by Petuhov about Petuhov. The articles titled «Prophecy» and critical remiaricii about Strugatsky.» brothers Novel «Burdened by the Evil» — are the highlights of the Issue. The article Is signed by U.DmItriev (the only article sig ned, by the way). Bi Jt the trick Is very simpl. It Is very plain to guess that Uri Dmitrlevlch Petuhov and U .Dmi'triev Is the same person. This Is one of the quatatlons «Who does not know ver ó fruitful writers of fantastic stories and novels omnipresent, publishing their works everywhere, their creative scope seems unbounded? These are Strugatskys brothers, who have now declared themselves Victims of the so called «Courtyard writers 'during those times». All this article keeps to thisslandering tone at accu stations, so It Is not wor th while speaking about It further on. Strugatskys brothers don't need any dijfence but It Is U. Petunov eho does need publicity. This method dates back to the Hi arostratus Times; do some harm to deserve people'sattentlon... U. Petuhov resorts to fiill sort of mess media to createa public Image — radio, TV, presse... The campaign Is wag'sd not even skilfully, but professlonaly. You come up to think that It Is being done with /the help of brofesslonal hand. You recollect a famouse expression «If they turn on the starts. It means that somebody needs them?» May be, somebody really needs very badly to have Petuhov's star lit up, to create a character of a Super-Grand-Fantasy writer, or may be a SF writer of the whole to State of Russia. So, who wants a writer of a mere «dust-bin» tend to go high? Apparently ho who shares his views (or may be he whoes views are close to U.Petunov.) These views are clearly manifested In the Interview U.Petuhov gave. titled: «The third World War Is In Its swing». This war, according to U.Petuhov Is being waged against Russia by the whole world. «Perestrolka — builders» ruin and disarm the army, whilst witty amerlc.'ans dismantle obsolete designs of Pershlngs of the of eariy 50%. Russian crops are destroyed deliberate In orderto let American farmers flourish, and abundance of goods Is ensured In America by...our goods being constantly transported over there by cargo ships and «Antey» crews. Russian market Is harmful for Russia because «the g'-eat Russian nation Is bleg humiliated In their powlessness and 99% of the capital assets will turn out to be In the hands of the West and then ofArmenlals, AserbladJans, Greasand Jews».
His Illogical reasons that Petunov gives remind strongly of those reasons vioced In the speeches made at the recent Congress of Writers Union, especially It sounds quite In line with the Bondarev's conceptions. Socal demagogy and denounciatlon of the «Slanderers»,substltutlon of causes by the consequences — all this are part of a certain code system which helps All Union adhereres, who appointed themselves to reform the role of the only deffenders of the country. The major thesis Is also very plain. Everything around is bad. And a universal chaos and calamity Is coming on. But Instead of thinking over the Idea how to stop the catastrophe, he Is trying to find out disrupters. And If I.. the I Issue of «The Voice of the Universe» he called them shamerfully «Inferno», later on Y.Petuchov exposes the enemy's face: let's come back to Petuhov's prose.
Frankly speaking. I feel a little sorry for him. He wishes so strongly to convey his wiews to the readers In an artistic literary way, but, but here are some failures. The author of the star vamps Is trying to do his best, but the thing Is as the Immortal quatatlon reads:
The trouble Is that your novel Is boring..."
Translated by Maria Pesikova.
«THE OVERSAN» — a New Amateur Fantastic Magazine in the USSR. The USSR remains one of the few developed countries, which has not a single special fantastic magazine up till now, though It has well-developed fans-movement, Science fiction works are published In many magazines, but It cannot compensate a lack of professional science fiction edition. Certainly, this vacuum had to be filled up by anything — and fans filled It themselves. Fanzlns were published In the USSR during enough different much time, but seldom they were distributed more than in few clubs. Now the situation Is: clubs, which publish fanzlns, try to send them to many addresses.
Not long ago there were published first and second numbers of «The Oversan» — an amateur magazine by science fantasy and Fantasy Amateurs' Clubs' questions; such words are written at title-page. «The Oversan» Is published In Sevastopol, (The USSR, 335045, Sevastopol City, P.Box 25, Chertkov A.E.). But It Is made In Sevastopol. NIkolaev and Leningrad. What word Is «Oversan»? Publishers are writing so:
«...»0versan> Is a term from cosmonavlgatlon reference books of Future (not very far Future, as It seems to us). The main point of It Is so, that If start-planet and finish-planet are separated by the Sun, the cosmo-ship at the flight Is flying by gentle arc. It Is driving from the ecliptic flatness and rounding the Sun... But really there are no straight forwards only In cosmos? «Normal heroes are always going round» — This words were singed In one beautiful children film. If It Is Impossible to punch a hole In a wall with a forehead, why may not anybody go from another side? If It Is very difficult to have professional magazine — why can't we try to publish amateur typing magazine? So, what Is for us to build a house? Let's tryl What «The Oversan» — through thoms — to stars!" (A.Deev. «What Is for Us to Blld a House?» — «The Oversan», N 1.1988).
Do this fans' expectations become real? I am thinking, that It will be so: «The Oversan» Is the right magazine, which we all need, we can think so already after two first numbers. There are words: «Information — Publlclsrn — Advertisement — Bibliography» — In contents of N 1: an account about the con-'entlon «The Aellta-87". the same one about fans-camp in Kerch C»The Gnat Bald Patch"), the same one about meeting of writers, publishers and amateurs In Novomlhallovskoye, the same account about writers' seminars In Moskow, Repino and Dubultee. The Information'about rewards, premiums and prizes — not only Soviet, but forein too (there are produced laureates of «Nebula» Prize, laureates of magazine «Locus» Prize; the ones of Memorial Philip Dick's Prize, of Authur dark's Prize, laureates of rewards of British Fantastical Writers' Association). There are abvertlsement, magazines' review, review of Science Fantasy cinematograph, the news from clubs.
There are the contents of N 2: an accounts about gathering of Fantasy Amateurs' Clubs In Kiev, about the first Efremov's readings (In memory of writer Ivan Efremov) In NIkolaev, the critic, the announcements, the tale about «Aellta-88" Prize at the rubric »Rewards, premiums, prizes" ("Aellta" Is one of the most prestige Science Fantasy prizes In the USSR, It Is given every year In Sverdlovsk; there are organized fantasy festivals of the same name In this city).
Theoretical problems are reflected at the pages of «The Oversan» too. Sergey Pereslegln's article «Fantasy and the Process of Cognition». (The «Oversan», N 2).
«90% of knowledge about man and mankind we are getting used to non-scientific methods of cognition, and art religion are such methods too, — this author writes, — The reliability of their results are small enough (then results at science — A.L.), and there are some more exact answers, and there are no at all the simple recommendations, but the field of use Is boundless. There Is no such problem, which Is Inacesslble for art».
S. Pereslegin Investigates the problem of correlation of the fantastic and the realistic In literature; and In particular, he broaches a subject about terms of fantasy. «It Is customary to divide fantasy Into science and fairy tale. — he writes. — This classification is very unsuccessful, because there Is no difflrence between «fantasy» and «science fiction» at tasks, at artistic devices and at degree of abstract construction too. It seems to me, all fantasy Is science, If It enlarges our knowledge about the world and about a man, and all the rest Is not science".
There Is an Interesting digest of V.Kazakov's report «About principles of zero-polemics», which Is aimed against monopolism In science fantasy publishing. Section of pen-frelndship promises to be Interesting too.
At the next numbers of «The Oversan» publishers are primlsing us «The Instruction for Post-modernists» by M.Swfanweek, the critical analysis of new books by A, and B.Strugatskys; by O.Larionova, S.Loglnov, the analysis of creative of beginning fantastic writers, bibliography, accounts about meeting of writers with fans...
«Remember: our magazine Is your magazine too», — publishers notice, and they In vnte their readers for a dialogue. It Is necessery to add, that «The Oversan» Is not the only fanzine In the USSR. There are publishing II of them at present time: «ABS-panorama» (Saratov; this magazine Is dedicated to difflrent aspects of Arcady and Boris Strugatskys' creative); «The Blaster» (Sevastopol); «Geya» (Krasnodar); «DImenslon-F» [Leningrad); «The Forelgnlng»(Sverdlovsk); «Monna Fena»(Artyomovsk); «Clear Space» [Tyumen); «Momentum» (there Is club newpaper of Fantasy Amateurs' Club «Gelios»,
Tbilisi); «Fan-o-man» Mnnltsa); «Fan-fan» (there Is an annual, Kulbyshev). There are prepared fanzlns In Cherkassy and In Volgograd for press. The variety may hope for soon heyday of «unformal» fantasy.
Andrew LUBENSKY.
the USSB, 257005. Cherkassy City, Volkov Street, House N 1, Flat N 13.

THE REVIEW OF «AELITA» (1988)

I foresee the guestlon «What kind of magazine »Aellta" Is*. Does such a magazine really exist? Yes, It does, dear reader. It Is a magazine Inside a magazine. Beginning from 1988 popular monthly literary science-fiction magazine for children and youth «Uralsky Sledopit» ("The Pathfinder of the Urals") has been publishing the «Aellta» on Its pages.
The «Aellta» prototype of the science-fiction magazine of which the admirers of this genre have been sreaking for 30 years already. And this Is a rather successbul prototype I should say.
The first four Issues of «Aellta» contain a publication which Is written In a quite unusual way for the Soviet fantastic genre. It Is the space opera written by Olga larlonova «Zvezdochka Vo Lbu» (The Star In the Forehead") (Chakra Kentavra). Of course, the genre of the space opera was already known to our readers. From 1956 «the Technlka Molodezhl» magazine published «The Treasures of a Thunder Moon» by Edmond Gamllton (1903-1977) first the father of the space opera. In 1988 «The TM published his «Star Kings" (this novel had been written by Gamllton soon after the Second World War). The Strugatsky brothers quallrled It as a classical sample of adventure fantasy. But here Is quite another thing. The first Soviet Space Opera. And I am glad to say that It does stand the comparason with the classical work's. The Inhabitants of the Jusperplanet live In a strange symbiosis with fantastic birds-crags. The people are blind but not by nature. The crags have blinded them In order to rule over them. How the Jusperlans managed to overthrow the yoke of the crags you will learn from the novel. The reading Is breathtaking. Once begun you wonn't stop It till the end. The rich decoration of Dmitri Utvlnov should also be mentioned. In the same Issue you will find the quiz «Fantastic under the Microscope»; the remarkable dates In 1988 such as:
— 80 years of the Tungus Meteorite's fall. The enigma of the centum»;
— 85 anniversary of John Windham's birthsday; 160 anniversary of J. Verne birthday;
— 75 anniversary p Amosov's bithday; — the outstanding soviet scientist and the author of the novel «Notes from the Future»;
— 60 anniversary of publication of Mayakovsky's fantastic Comedy «Clop» (The Bug)
— stories about SF writers meetings
— Kir Bulychev, a famous fantastic writer, answers the readers question In the Issue. He Is a prize winner of a weekly «Literary Russia for 1988. Our best congratulations to him on this occasion. I should like to mention his statement here: The term fantastic genre a kind of literature (or art) which comprises a vast variety of genres from tragedy up to detective. It Is a peculiar outlook upon the worid and reality. And It Is this fact that played a sad role Im the history of our fantastic literature. The beginning was brilliant. in the 20-s a lot of books tend translations) were published and a number of magazines existed devoted a lion's share of their pages to fantastic literature.!; was based on the Improbability, tempo of changes, expectations of new changes of the one hand and of the traditions on the Russian and world fantastic literature on the other. I had to mention arithmetics already. It Is simple. If the USA publishes a thousand of new fantastic books every year — It is not only arithmetics. It Is that very soil which makes It posslbleto discover new talents. Even If 900 out of a 10001s nonsense,a100-are quite proffeslonal, and 10-are really worth reading. It Is also the soil that cultivates public opinion and professional critics.
Let us consider today's Poland. While at the Polish congrees of fantastic literature which had gathered nearly 1000 delegates from dozens of clubs, I asked to show me club's editions. I was given a pile of books. Each club publishes Its own magazine or a newspaper They also edit books. A great number of publications creates the atmosphere of opennes and objectlveness In fantastic books, it Is a real rostrum for the young talents. The situation when the narrow circle of selected people have privileges in publication of books or take advantage of the fact that fantastic books are often in short supply is Impossible In Poland.
There are things to think of. The author names the outstanding fantastic writers of the 20 the century: A.Green; M.Bulgakov; A.Tolstoy; A.PIatonov; E.ZamyatIn; 1. Eren-burg, L.Leonov, A.Bellaev, The author remarks: In the early 30-s the principle of 'unanimous thinking and the only one way triumphed. The words «discussion» and «opposition» became a bad language, and were used only In some special cases. There came uneasy times for the literature as a whole and for the fantastic literature In particular Journals and magazines were often closed, the books disappeared. The works written by Bulgakov and Platonov were not published. Green had died. A.Tolstoi;
Erenburg and Leonov gave up fantastic literature up till now. The Soviet Union Is the only highly — developed country which does not publish a single science —fiction magazine. While the Importance of a clever fantasy Is well known.
Issue 5 of «Aellta» published the story «The Scorpion», written by E.Drozd.
The story depicts the world which exists behind the Red boundary,
the world Inhabited by awful creatures — mutants who had never seen the sun and the sky. Mankind managed to prevent catastrophe, having experienced It before. The condemned world kills Itself, having returned to the Initial point. But there will be no such opportunity In real life. The stop; does not give a finafanswer; there Is no guara antee that the other way will lead civilization to the same Issue contains the report of N.Xoptug about the International meeting of fantastic writers, which took place In Moscow In Septemder of 1988. The motto of the meeting of fantastic writers was:
«Fantasy and the Future of Mankind». Issues 6, 7, 8, published the story by George Gurevlch «The Warrant for Being Young» It Is rather Interesting and well written. In his fantastic story Gurevlch Investigates the nature of the talent, the phenomenon of man's appeal. In the Correspondence Fan Club you will find splendid Illustrations for «Utile Prince» made by A-Korotlch; the report about the first All-Union Efremov's readings which took place In NIkolaev In April 1988; the Invitation to take part In compiling the Red(sovlet) Fantastic Encyclopaedia. IssueNo 5 publishes the report of V.Bugrov about the festival of fantastic literature which Is also called «Aellta». This festival Is very popular among the admirers of fantasy. It Is held In Sverdlovsk every year. The prize of the festival Is also called «Aellta». The prize — winner for 1988 was Victor Kolupaev — the writer from Omsk. He was awarded this prize for book «The Spring of Light». The readers will also find a lot of works written by the young writers: «The Clap of Thunder» by E.FIIenko; «The Tram to Terminal» by Fyodorov; «The Step alang the Road» by I.Tyaglov.
«The Town ofTrora» by S.Vartanov. The level of the stories gives hope to meet these authors again.
The subject of the stopy «King's Safary» written bu V. Hudyakov Is well known In the Soviet and world fantastic llte rature. The main Idea of the story Is mutual understanding. The Inhabitants of the Earth visit the unknown planet. They witnessed a horrible scene of mass persecutions there.
«What is to be done?»—the question ar Ises. Wether to stop It or to kill the tyrants? First of all — to understand. And not only th(»foreign civilization but to understand each other. The story does not contain any new lu'eas. But It Is rather Interesting. The author displayed great courage on taking the sach a theme for his story as It was touched upon by Strugatsky's brothers in their novel «It Isi hard to be a God». The same Issue gives bibliography «The news of the fantastic lltera for 1987-1988.
The latest Issues of the «Aellta» publish the story «The Owners» written by V. Golovachev. The author describes the catastrophe which took place during the experiments with time: the generator of time disappeared In the past. Nobody knows what ture. May be It had reached happened the starti ig point of the Universe. ThI.» catastrophe threatens the very existance of the Universe. It Is necessary to find the generation and to swich It off. The main Idea of the ,iovel Is the right of man to cognition despite the danger og the death of the whole civilization. This Is the guestlon that Interests not only fantastic writers. Fantastic literature tries to solve this problem In Its own speslflc way. Though It does not give any definite answer. The readers see It In Golovachev's novel.
Generally the first year of existence of «Aellta» shows that the professional Soviet science-fiction magazine really exists. Now It Is «a magazine Inside a magazine». This fact limits Its possibilities. But the main posesslon of «Aellta» als Its Interest ting authors. We hope that «Aellta» will become a separate science fiction magazine soon.

More articles on pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,