The demons of science fiction

• Published date: 30 September 2021
• Author: Inna Stakser
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Aleksandr Gromov is one of the best known post-Soviet science fiction writers. While I often disagree with his worldview, I always find his books both intellectually stimulating and a pleasure to read. There are quite a few other excellent Russian writers in this genre. Evgenii Lukin, Vadim Shefner and Yulii Burkin combine, for example, combine science fiction and fantasy in imaginative depictions of how human societies might develop.

Yet, some late Soviet and post-Soviet works of fantasy or sci-fi fantasy make me uncomfortable. In addressing the resurgence of nationalism that accompanied the ideological and political collapse of the Soviet Union, they fall back on antisemitic stereotypes. For example, in the works of Yuri Nikitin, Vadim Panov, and Vasilii Golovachev, the protagonists are depicted as honest, hardworking, albeit somewhat naïve Slavs, whereas the villains are portrayed as devious money-obsessed individuals intent on destroying society.

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As Viktor Shnirelman, historian and ethnologist specializing in the myths and ideologies of the far-right, noted in his 2018 study Three Myths of a Conspiracy: Antisemitic Propaganda in Contemporary Russia, this association of villainy with Judaism in late-Soviet and post-Soviet sci-fi fantasy represents a disturbing trend: the use of non-traditional platforms to transmit antisemitic ideas to a new generation of Russians.

According to Shinlerman, fiction, especially the genres of science fiction and fantasy, has become a convenient way of circumventing Russian laws against public expressions of racist views. After all, the idea of prosecuting someone for creating an imaginary world populated by a greedy humanoid species with hooked noses or for using racial epitaphs to describe the long extinct Khazars seems excessive, even absurd.

The popularity of these genres, especially among Slavic youth, is troubling. It suggests that pervasive stereotypes about Jews are being communicated in disguised forms to the leaders of tomorrow.

Shnilerman gives particular attention to the archetypal character of the outsiders in Russian science fiction; they are depicted as either well-known enemies of the ancient Slavic community, such as the Khazars, or as disingenuous persons belonging to a future society who are intent on causing destruction.

These representations, he contends, derive from...