“We Should be Proud Not Sorry”: Neo-Stalinist Literature in Contemporary Russia

Abstract

This chapter argues that contemporary Russian neo-Stalinist literature offers a useful prism for examining the post-traumatic syndromes of a post-totalitarian society. It begins by providing an overview of the phenomenon of Russian neo-Stalinist literature, sketching out its key themes, authors, and volume. Next, this literature is placed in the context of the shifting Russian perceptions of the Stalin period over the past sixty years. Finally, the chapter analyzes the reasons for the existence and popularity of neo-Stalinist literature in today’s Russia. It argues that the crucial factor behind this popularity is the public disillusionment and aversion towards perestroika and the liberal reforms of the late 1980s–1990s, now linked in the public mind with the anti-Stalinist campaign of that period.