Five of the most famous hoaxes of Russian literature. Great optimists and pessimists A pessimist is always ready

5 most pessimistic writers. Those who took out ink and cried.

1. It’s not cats who become strongly attached to home, but geniuses like Howard Lovecraft. As a child, he nearly committed suicide because his family moved to a smaller home. Their family, in principle, could not boast of a stable psyche: both of Lovecraft’s parents went to another world in a psychiatric hospital. And Howard spent his entire life watching nightmares at night and based on them he composed his “Lovecraftian horrors.” In general, it’s convenient, and there’s no need to fantasize.

2. Franz Kafka in all his photographs is a thin young man with the eyes of a sad squirrel. He was an offended child until his death at the age of 41: he was always haunted by a conflict with his oppressive parents, who demanded “normal” work from their children, and not literary work. Franz became upset and led a secret life with redoubled force, furtively inventing creepy stories (for example, about a beetle man who was disgusting to the whole family - after all, Spider-Man had never been heard of then!). There is still a long way to go to find such magnificently melancholy works - but the insecure Kafka did not want to go “in public” at all and bequeathed to burn his entire legacy.

3. Emily Dickinson was a strange and very sad girl who, after the death of her beloved cousin, fell into black melancholy, began constantly wearing white dresses and writing strange poems. Emily rarely strayed more than 5 miles from her father’s house, and over time she completely stopped loving talking to people and leaving her room - and this was without Brodsky’s instructions! Emily’s poems, not surprisingly, were emotional, uneven and all about God. Dickinson wrote in her desk—that’s where the drafts were found after her death.

4. Edgar Poe. Having studied Poe’s biography, you can’t help but think: is he a pessimist or is he a realist? In infancy, he was given away to his adoptive parents (who, however, were not bad people). Then the writer was overtaken by gambling addiction, addiction to drinking, depression, a huge quarrel with his stepfather and the death of his beloved wife, who was also his cousin, who was only 13 years old at the time of the wedding (sic!). There is something to be sad about. True, mental illness turned out to be fruitful: Poe invented two new genres, the “horrible” novella and the detective story.

5. “If you have a persecution mania, this does not mean that you are not being watched,” Ernst Hemingway believed and slowly went crazy. Brutal, strong and generally handsome, the writer composed heart-warming stories about the “lost generation” lost in a world of war. Ernst was treated as best they could - the doctors even forced him to undergo a bunch of shock therapy sessions (thank you, they didn’t offer a euthanasia basin). But, no matter how much the writer called in his books to fight to the end, acute depression and loss of the ability to write took their toll - old Ham put a bullet in his forehead.

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Great optimists

The greatest optimist, without a doubt, can be called Louis XIV. He enjoyed life in all its manifestations, surrounded himself with the most beautiful women, got carried away, fell in love, had affairs. It is no coincidence that his reign remained a bright period in the history of France, filled with various events that concerned both the king himself and his immediate circle.

Great pessimists

A very pessimistic woman was the wife of Louis XIV - a Spanish princess, infanta Maria Teresa. She was timid, uninteresting, loved silence, was mostly alone, and spent her time in prayer or reading. It is no wonder that the life-loving monarch Louis XIV did not pay any attention to her, preferring to have fun on the side.

Great optimists

Marshal Richelieu, the great-grandnephew of the great cardinal, was known as a flighty man and fond of women. Having replaced three wives and many mistresses, he was very lenient about female infidelity. Finding his wife with her lover, he cheerfully advised her to be careful in order to avoid awkward situations, because someone else could be in his place.

Great optimists

One of the Presidents of France Charles de Gaulle was very optimistic. People who interacted with him during the development of his political career noted his inexhaustible faith in success. It was thanks to this faith that de Gaulle was able to eventually gain the presidency.

Great pessimists

Famous sculptor Michelangelo He was distinguished by a rather quarrelsome character and unattractive appearance. All his life he searched for a feeling consonant with his own, but he never succeeded in this matter, which gradually led him into deep melancholy.

Great optimists

Among great people, one of the greatest optimists was considered Jean Jacques Rousseau. This Frenchman considered man the greatest creation of the Universe, a perfect being, initially without any shortcomings. He was also optimistic about everyday life. He met all life's failures, even the most serious ones, with a smile, which greatly surprised his friends and relatives. There is a known case when, because of his optimism, he even quarreled with his wife, who considered his reaction to troubles too easy.

Great optimists

Great Italian actress Sophia Loren known for her optimism. While still very young, she, armed only with her own beauty and faith in luck, decided to get out of the poverty that surrounded her. Sophia Loren's optimism has not diminished with age. The great actress, as her friends note, takes any trouble with a smile and knows how to find positive aspects in it.

Great pessimists

Lead singer of Depesh mode Dave Gahan expresses his pessimism in his creativity. The lyrics suggest thoughts about the imperfection of the world, and the music is chosen accordingly. Gahan's pessimism has already become the feature that distinguishes this group from many others, its unique brand.

Great optimists

The Russian ballerina was an optimist Maya Plisetskaya. Perhaps a successful career influenced the ballerina’s attitude, or perhaps her personal life. Be that as it may, the students of her school in Madrid noted: “Maya Mikhailovna’s optimism was truly inexhaustible, she knew how to infect us with it.”

Great optimists

To the two-time Formula 1 world champion, German Michael Schumacher It was optimism that helped him recover from a serious injury and return to sports. Michael's friends did not expect that he would decide to return, but faith in luck does not leave the great racer. “I was lucky that everything ended well. So, we’ll continue to be lucky.”

Great optimists

Famous French couturier Pierre Cardin has a light character and optimism. He believes in luck, knows how to use it, and fortune favors him. His colleagues believe that Cardin's optimism helped him become popular and gain worldwide fame.

Great pessimists

Great composer Ludwig van Beethoven had a pessimistic view of the world. However, life was not particularly pampering for him. The genius did not find recognition, and besides, beautiful ladies did not favor him with their affection. All his life, the brilliant composer had to limit himself to friendly relations with beauties, for whom he often had a genuine passion.

Great optimists

The great Soviet composer was distinguished by optimism Sergei Prokofiev. Despite the fact that his work did not find a response in society, but on the contrary, was condemned in every possible way, he continued to write music full of light, life and sun. He knew how not to transfer his problems to his creativity, which to this day inspires optimism in our souls.

Great pessimists

French writer known for his pessimism Victor Hugo. All the memories left by his contemporaries testify to this. The following entry was found in the diary of a Parisian artist: “He told me that all his past troubles were nothing compared to those that awaited him ahead. Hugo was always a little gloomy, but this time he outdid himself."

Great optimists

Probably no poet enjoyed such popularity and appreciation during his lifetime as Voltaire. At one time, among his contemporaries, he occupied the place of almost a demigod, since it was he who was worshiped as a supreme being. Often his opinion on something meant more than the word of some high-ranking official. Despite his external ugliness, Voltaire never lost his excellent spirits and natural love of life.

Great pessimists

Great English writer Charles Dickens was very unhappy in his marriage. Perhaps it was precisely this circumstance that left an indelible imprint on the writer’s worldview. Gradually, he forgot how to enjoy life and, despite the grandiose evenings that he organized for prominent personalities of that time, he could not fully enjoy his well-being and social position.

Great optimists

Poet Goethe It is considered to be a true darling of fate. At least in everything that concerned his relationships with the opposite sex, as well as in matters of creativity, fate was favorable to this brilliant man. Women idolized him, and already in his early youth the poet achieved universal recognition and fame.

Great pessimists

The Russian writer was a pessimist Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. His sense of self was dictated by the peculiarities of the era and was reflected in his work of the late period. Even in successful days, Gogol was distrustful of his happiness and considered it accidental. “Luck is fickle,” the writer liked to say.

Great optimists

The greatest optimist can be considered Dale Carnegie. He was able to develop a theory that allows him not only to improve his mood, but also to maintain it constantly. Dale Carnegie has gained true popularity throughout the world precisely because his principles are both simple and effective. The most interesting thing is that Carnegie more than successfully used his theories in his own life, thanks to which he achieved a lot.

Great pessimists

There are not many pessimists among the representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, since their inherent qualities were not reflected in the nature of the Russian person. Perhaps one of the creative people closest to the pessimistic doctrine among our compatriots is Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov:

And it’s boring, and sad, and there’s no one to give a hand to

In a moment of spiritual adversity...

Desires!.. What is the use of wishing in vain and forever?..

And the years pass - all the best years!

To love... But who?.. For a while - it’s not worth the effort,

And it is impossible to love forever.

Will you look into yourself? There is no trace of the past:

And joy, and torment, and everything there is insignificant...

Life is not sweet fruits and cream. What matters is how you feel about it. However, some zodiac signs are able to stubbornly focus on all the worst and naturally become very pessimistic and negative people, prone to dark critical thinking. We all, of course, can lose our temper, get upset and see the bad in everything, but for the most part we cope with it successfully, because being negative is very harmful and destructive. Yes, our lives are not always easy, but at least they are interesting. Test yourself to see how much of a pessimist you are in this regard, according to astrology.

1. Cancer

Cancers can let their emotions get the better of them. When everything goes awry, or they suddenly get up on the wrong foot in the morning, they simply become the embodiment of pure negativity. Cancers will immediately begin to play the most unfortunate victim and blame the whole world for their own problems. And this, alas, will last for a long time. When this sign is in a good mood, it is sweeter than sugar, but if the reins fall under its tail, then those around you need to be careful. Cancer uses his pessimism as a way to release negative emotions, but in reality he only sinks deeper into depression.

2. Virgo

Virgos can become desperate pessimists when something doesn’t work out for them or doesn’t go according to plan. This sign wants to be a leader and a lucky person, but he is not good at controlling himself. As soon as Virgo imagines failure or failure, she immediately becomes depressed and sad. She has only two opinions: her own and the wrong one, and if you try to challenge this, her state of mind will change for the worse. Virgos are moody when they are pessimistic, and sometimes this moodiness causes even more negativity. But there comes a moment when aggression is already pouring over the edge, and then Virgo lets off steam and calms down.

3. Scorpio

Scorpios are very toxic and negative when something in life, in their opinion, is going completely wrong. This “wrong” happens with enviable regularity, which is why this sign is often in a dark and wild rage because of a situation that, in essence, is absolutely harmless and completely solvable. Scorpio constantly thinks that everything around is falling apart beyond the possibility of restoration. He pushes himself harder and harder, and his thinking moves more and more intensely along a spiral of pessimistic destruction. When Scorpio is in this state, it is almost impossible to be near him.

4. Capricorn

Capricorns are responsible and well-organized people, but when they get overwhelmed, negativity takes over. They are afraid that they will not cope with a task, a problem, an obstacle, and this will ruin their reputation. The self-discipline of this sign is simply off the charts, and when he really fails, he eats himself and everyone around him. Difficult times make Capricorn feel pessimistic, and it is incredibly difficult for him to get out of this state. Of course, he tries to prevent such changeable moods and lingering gloominess from completely consuming him, but he does not always succeed.

Krasnoyarsk resident Yulia Solonets found a report from the library of the Siberian Railway in Tomsk and published on her Facebook page a list of authors who were most loved at the beginning of the 20th century. Opposite each name is the number of volumes that library visitors took in 1913.

1. Leo Tolstoy - 1,689 volumes

In first place is the thunderstorm of Russian schoolchildren. And this is not surprising. People still read about Lev Nikolaevich to this day.

2. Alexander Amfitheatrov - 1,086 volumes

It is unlikely that anyone without Wikipedia will now say that he wrote Amphitheaters. And he wrote a lot: about 30 novels, many short stories and journalistic works. Why they don’t read him now is, in principle, understandable: the novels “Victoria Pavlovna” and “Victoria Pavlovna’s Daughter” were interesting to contemporaries, but now the characters are completely different.

3. Anastasia Verbitskaya - 1,015 volumes

4. Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko - 911 volumes

5. Fyodor Dostoevsky - 902 volumes

Dostoevsky lagged behind Tolstoy, but entered the top five most popular writers of the early 20th century. It's time to remember about it and read something beyond the compulsory program.

6. Anton Chekhov - 829 volumes

One of the most popular and famous Russian writers, who is highly valued all over the world. Useful to read and re-read.

7. Ivan Myasnitsky (Baryshev) - 790 volumes

8. Ignatius Potapenko - 776 volumes

He wrote a lot and was incredibly popular among the general public, but did not leave works that would be read 100 years later.

9. Henryk Sienkiewicz - 753 volumes

Polish writer who became famous for his large-scale historical novels. They are still read and even filmed.

10. Vsevolod Solovyov - volume 731

Vsevolod Solovyov wrote many historical novels about Russia. But they study more the work of his brother, philosopher Vladimir Solovyov.

11. Evgeniy Salias - 696 volumes

He wrote adventure novels about kings and powerful people in historical settings. It was incredibly popular, but completely forgotten.

12. Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak - 670 volumes

Nowadays only his essays about nature and fairy tales for children are read, and his works for adults about how life changed after the revolution are forgotten.

13. Maxim Gorky - 590 volumes

14. Ivan Turgenev - 559 volumes

Turgenev is read mainly at school. Turgenev's girls are remembered throughout their lives. Do you remember what else he wrote about?

15. Nikolai Leikin - 552 volumes

A humorist and satirist, his books were republished many times before the revolution and were even prohibited from being translated. But humor has not stood the test of time.

16. Leonid Andreev - volume 551

17. Ivan Goncharov - 498 volumes

18. Kazimir Barantsevich - 409 volumes

He described mainly the life of ordinary people and was considered one of the most pessimistic authors.

19. Olga Shapir - 408 volumes

She wrote for women about women, family and love, and at the same time participated in public life and was an active feminist. Completely forgotten.

20. Alexander Ostrovsky - volume 371

There is an opinion that it is better to watch plays. Moreover, Ostrovsky is still being actively staged. But reading does not impose the director’s point of view on the work.

10 main writers of modern Russia

When it comes to modern literature, the reader often forms his reading circle based on existing ratings. But every niche of the book market has its leaders, and none of them is an absolute literary authority. We decided to hold a kind of Russian championship among writers. From a pool of 50 different writers—from bestselling authors to darlings of intellectual criticism—we've found 10 champions through some complex calculations. These are writers who convey those ideologies that are in demand by the majority of readers and therefore are important today for the whole country

1 place

Victor Pelevin

What did you get it for?
For the painstaking and consistent deciphering of the present and the explanation of the life of the new Russia through absurdity and metaphysics.

How he does it
Since his first stories, published back in the late 1980s, Pelevin has been doing the same thing: X-raying his contemporary society, revealing the “true” background of any events in the modern history of Russia.

He seems to offer us another Russia - a metaphysical, magical, absurd empire, in which “werewolves in uniform” turn into real wolf people (“The Sacred Book of the Werewolf”), cadets at the Maresyev Flight School have their legs amputated (“Omon Ra”) , instead of real politicians, the country is governed by PR people through digital characters from TV (“Generation “P”), and oil appears because the skull of a motley cow cries real tears over the bitter fate of the Russian security forces (“The Sacred Book of the Werewolf”). At the same time, Pelevin’s portrait of Russia is almost always photographically accurate: in “Chapaev and Emptiness” (1996) he gave a snapshot of the 90s with their “new Russians” and kitschy fashion for Eastern esotericism, in “Generation “P”” (1999) predicted the coming kingdom of PR and the painful search for a national idea, which we began in the 2000s.

Pelevin is the most sought-after writer in our country, where the spirit of conspiracy is still strong and many are confident that the authorities are hiding everything from them, but no one knows exactly what and how.

Points

• Awards - 3(“National bestseller”, 2004, “DPP NN” - 300 thousand rubles).
• Confession experts -5 (Pelevin’s importance for modern culture is recognized even by his consistent critics).
• Circulations - 5(since the mid-2000s, the starting circulation of his new books is about 200 thousand copies).
• Presence of fans - 5(the collective madness around Pelevin has existed for about 15 years; in 1999, a rally of his fans was even held in Moscow).
• Publicity - 3(ignores the press, gives one or two interviews a year, but is still one of the key cultural newsmakers).
• Availability of film adaptations – 5(the film “Generation “P”” will be released in February 2010).
• Reputation - 5(nobody knows his political views; people of various views find confirmation of their hypotheses and guesses in his prose).
• Total 31

2nd place

Lyudmila Ulitskaya

What did you get it for?
For affirming the simple truth that modern man is essentially not so bad.

How does she do it
Ulitskaya is most interested in people. In this sense it is unique. The focus of her attention is not on fashion, not on current politics, not on the surprises of history, but on people, our contemporaries with their shortcomings, virtues, sins, talents, faith and unbelief. She feels sincere sympathy for her characters - much like the main character of the novel “Sincerely yours, Shurik” feels sympathy for all the women along his path.

Until 2006, Ulitskaya described simple, sometimes even average, people, showing different facets of their characters. And then from the same material she created a “superman” - translator Daniel Stein from the novel of the same name, who set the goal of his life as nothing less than the reconciliation of different nations and religions.

Points

• Awards - 5(“Russian Booker”, 2001, “Kukotsky’s Case” - 300 thousand rubles; “Big Book”, 2007, “Daniel Stein, translator” - 3 million rubles).
• Expert recognition - 5(Ulitskaya is loved by critics of all kinds).
• Circulations - 5(“Daniel Stein, translator” - more than 400 thousand copies).
• Availability of fans - 1(Ulitskaya’s novels, as a rule, are about too intimate experiences, so her fans usually keep quiet and hide their feelings).
• Publicity - 3(does not like publicity, although he periodically gives interviews).
• Availability of film adaptations – 5(film “Kukotsky’s Case” (2005) based on the book of the same name).
• Reputation - 5(the human theme chosen by Ulitskaya turns out to be a universal key to the hearts of a wide variety of readers of all age groups and sometimes with opposing views).
• Total 29

3rd place

Leonid Yuzefovich

What did you get it for?
For explaining our present through the past and our past through the present.

How he does it
Yuzefovich writes historical thrillers, and in real history he finds plots that are richer and more interesting than any fiction. His books include an Esperantist conspiracy in the Urals during the Civil War; a Mongol prince trying to sell his soul to the devil; Russian impostor wandering around Europe in the 17th century. All this is a hybrid of historical reality and myths, which turns out to be relevant every time and helps the reader understand the events of today. Yuzefovich nowhere claims that history is cyclical, but at the same time, for example, the Time of Troubles from his novel “Cranes and Dwarfs” is strikingly reminiscent of the Russian 90s, and the problems of the police in the Russian Empire of the late 19th century are very similar to those that the “cops” solve " Nowadays. It turns out that we have already gone through all this, but have not drawn any conclusions.

Points

• Awards - 5(“National bestseller”, 2001, “Prince of the Wind” - 300 thousand rubles; “Big Book”, 2009, “Cranes and Dwarfs” - 3 million rubles).
• Expert recognition - 5(unanimous approval from almost all critics).
• Circulations - 3(less than 100 thousand copies).
• Availability of fans - 1(Yuzefovich’s books did not give rise to a fan movement as such; he requires the reader to think and analyze facts, and the mass audience is not always ready for this).
• Publicity - 3(doesn’t strive to become a public figure, but communicates with the press).
• Availability of film adaptations – 5(film “Detective of the St. Petersburg Police” (1991) based on the story “The Situation in the Balkans”; TV series “Cazarosa” (2005) based on the novel “Espero Club”; TV series “Detective Putilin” (2007) based on the novels “Harlequin Costume”, “ House of Meetings", "Prince of the Wind").
• Reputation - 5(causes respect in different political camps - with caution and thoughtfulness of statements).
• Total 27

4th place

Vladimir Makanin

What did you get it for?
For a detailed and merciless analysis of the most painful and pressing social issues.

How he does it
Makanin keeps his own chronicle of Russian life, recording and analyzing such important components as the fate of the intelligentsia (“Underground, or Hero of Our Time”) or the war in the Caucasus (“Prisoner of the Caucasus” and “Asan”).

Makanin works as a mirror of Russian reality with a multiple magnification effect. This is not to say that he shows something that is not there, but not everyone likes his pictures - just as few people might like the reflection of their own face with all its pores and acne. Six months after he was awarded the Big Book Prize, the novel Asan was awarded the title of “worst book of the year” on the Internet: this happened through the efforts of veterans of the Chechen wars, who were thoroughly offended by the writer.

Makanin is sometimes accused of “cheap provocations.” Cheap or not, “provocation” is an accurate definition: the writer chooses the most difficult topics for society and presents their research to the reader. And then everyone is free to either be indignant that everything is so bad with us, or admire how skillfully the writer shows that everything is so bad with us.

Points

• Awards - 5(“Russian Booker”, 1993, “A table covered with cloth and with a decanter in the middle” - $10 thousand; “Big Book”, 2008, “Asan” - 3 million rubles).
• Expert recognition - 4(liberal-minded critics value Makanin for his “truth of life”; patriots are indignant and accuse the writer of distorting historical facts).
• Circulations - 5(at the end of the Soviet era, Makanin was published in thousands of copies).
• Availability of fans - 1(Makanin has not acquired any fans as such, there are only loyal readers).
• Publicity - 3(does not seek publicity, but gives interviews from time to time).
• Availability of film adaptations – 5(film “Heads and Tails” (1995) based on the story “In the First Breath”; film “Prisoner” (2008) based on the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”).
• Reputation - 4(among liberals he enjoys absolute authority; for the conservative-patriotic part of society he is a liar and a provocateur).
• Total 27

5-7 place

Alexander Kabakov

What did you get it for?
For a true reflection of our fear of the future.

How he does it
Kabakov managed to capture the spirit of the times back in the late 80s, when he wrote the story “The Defector” - a dystopia that captured the premonition of civil war that was then hanging in the air. For the first time in Soviet history, the future began to frighten the broad masses, and Kabakov verbalized the fear that was popular in those years: the total circulation of official publications alone exceeded 200 thousand copies.

20 years after The Defector, Kabakov again wrote a dystopian novel, The Fugitive, which takes place in 1917, in the last months of pre-Soviet Russia. It would seem that these are things of the past, why be afraid of them? But the events of 1917 turn out to be very similar to our time. And most importantly, then, and now, and 20 years ago, the future still scares us. In modern culture, Kabakov plays the role of a pessimistic reasoner who pronounces his “memento mori” (remember death) both appropriately and inappropriately.

Points

• Awards - 4(“Big Book”, 2006, “Everything Can Be Fixed” - 1.5 million rubles).
• Confession experts -4 (causes respect, but not from everyone; they often scold him).
• Circulations - 5(“Defector” - over 200 thousand copies).
• Availability of fans - 1(Kabakov has no ardent fans).
• Publicity — 3 (does not strive to become a public character, but often appears in the media).
• Availability of film adaptations – 5(film “The Defector” (1991) based on the story of the same name).
• Reputation - 4(his moderate liberal and moderate conservative views both attract and repel both camps of critics).
• Total 26

5-7 place

Sergei Lukyanenko

What did you get it for?
For the popularization of conformism and traditional values.

How he does it
Like Pelevin, Lukyanenko shows the hidden mechanisms of the functioning of reality around us. In “Watches” and “Draft” one can find an explanation for a variety of events in modern life, from political to everyday. But the explanations that Lukyanenko offers are much simpler than Pelevin’s: his world is Manichaean-style divided into good and evil, black and white. Moreover, each political force tends to see its opponents in the “dark” Day Watch, and itself in the “light” Night Watch.

True, sometimes it turns out that evil is not so evil, and good uses its fists for the wrong reasons. But still, against the backdrop of social postmodernism, which fundamentally does not distinguish good from evil, Lukyanenko’s prose looks like a breath of traditionalism. He continues to follow the line of Soviet science fiction, familiar to everyone from childhood. And his characters, for the most part, are conformists: even the most heroic of them every now and then stop being heroic and go with the flow. In this, the writer managed to capture the spirit of the times: the mass reader of the 2000s, a person of the era of “stability,” happily accepted this conformism, combined with the patriotic-conservative views of Lukyanenko himself.

Points

• Awards - 1(did not receive).
• Expert recognition - 3(Lukyanenko is the only science fiction writer about whom critics from outside the science fiction community regularly write. True, he is rarely praised).
• Circulations - 5(a starting circulation of 200 thousand copies for Lukyanenko’s books is common).
• Presence of fans - 5(Lukyanenko has been an idol of the masses for a good ten years; role-playing games are based on his books).
• Publicity — 3 (he doesn’t like publicity, but he appears in public and gives interviews).
• Availability of film adaptations – 5(the films “Night Watch” (2004) and “Day Watch” (2006) based on the novels of the same name; the film “Aziris Nuna” (2006) based on the book “Today, Mom!”; several more films are planned).
• Reputation - 4(is an authority for a large group of adherents of traditional values ​​and “stability”; others are rather repulsed by his views).
• Total 26

5-7 place

Boris Akunin

What did you get it for?
For creating an escapist myth about the Russian Golden Age.

How he does it
The first novels about Erast Fandorin were dedicated: “To the memory of the 19th century, when literature was great, faith in progress was boundless, and crimes were committed and revealed with grace and taste.” At the end of the 90s, in the midst of a revision of Russian history from new ideological positions, the novelist Akunin began to create an escapist myth for a “smart” but not very intellectual reader - the myth of beautiful Russia at the end of the 19th century.

Akunin found an era that, on the one hand, is well known to everyone, and on the other, does not cause much controversy. From the language of classical literature of the 19th century, familiar to everyone from the school curriculum, from elegant detective constructions and the general good-naturedness of heroes, even negative ones, he created the ideal world of an escapist, where one could escape from default, wars in Chechnya, politics and troubles at work. Akunin gave a whole generation of Russian office workers a safe refuge from the present.

Points

• Awards - 1(was not nominated for an award and has no chance: awards do not like entertaining literature).
• Expert recognition - 3(“intellectual” critics don’t like him, but for glossy publications he is a favorite).
• Circulations - 5(average circulation is more than 200 thousand copies).
• Presence of fans - 5(the world of Fandorin, Pelagia and other Akunin characters has been the subject of mass madness for almost ten years).
• Publicity - 3(he doesn’t like to appear in the press, but sometimes reminds himself of himself with bright media gestures: for example, an interview with Mikhail Khodorkovsky in Esquire magazine).
• Availability of film adaptations – 5(films “Azazel” (2001), “Turkish Gambit” (2004), “State Councilor” (2005), as well as the TV series (2009) “Pelagia and the White Bulldog”).
• Reputation - 4(known as a staunch liberal, for which he is appreciated by some and hated by others).
• Total 26

8th place

Dmitry Bykov

What did you get it for?
For the ability to find a common language with everyone - regardless of beliefs, political leanings, etc.

How he does it
They once joked about Bykov that he, like gas, fills any space allotted to him. He hosts programs on radio, and until recently, on television, and publishes articles, reviews and columns in newspapers and magazines of various types. He offers poetry lovers poetry, and prose lovers novels, moreover, written in keeping with the fashion trends of his time. For those who do not like fiction, there is non-fiction: biographies of Boris Pasternak and Bulat Okudzhava.

For intellectuals, Bykov paints a portrait of Okudzhava as a representative of a special Soviet aristocracy, for pessimists - a scary dystopia “Written Off” about how all kinds of people suddenly found themselves on ominous lists compiled by someone for unknown reasons. The ideal universal writer of the era of total crisis of all ideologies.

Points

• Awards - 5(“National bestseller”, 2006, “Boris Pasternak” - 300 thousand rubles; “Big Book”, 2006, “Boris Pasternak” - 3 million rubles).
• Expert recognition - 4(some critics do not like his ideological omnivorousness, but each new book by Bykov becomes an event).
• Circulations - 2(not a single book has ever been published with a circulation of more than 50 thousand copies).
• Availability of fans - 3(there is a small but well-organized fan movement and fan clubs).
• Publicity — 4 (one way or another, he is constantly present in the media: he writes columns in magazines, a program on the radio “City-FM”, and hosted the television program “Vremechko”).
• Availability of film adaptations - 1 (for now they are only being negotiated).
• Reputation - 4(Bykov could be an authoritative writer, but he is harmed by the fact that he is not “above” all sorts of ideologies, but, on the contrary, is in solidarity with any of them).
• Total 23

9-10 place

Evgeniy Grishkovets

What did you get it for?
For glorifying the joys of life and everyday life of a simple modern person.

How he does it
Lenin argued that “the electron is as inexhaustible as the atom.” Evgeny Grishkovets proves that a person - and first of all his life, daily actions and thoughts - is as inexhaustible as an electron. His stories, novels and plays are statements of the most ordinary tales, diary entries, memories of his youth, school and university years, anecdotes about neighbors, fellow travelers or casual acquaintances, which are interspersed with reflections on the meaning of existence. Readers can easily recognize themselves in all the listed stories, tales and anecdotes, and even reflection in the works of Grishkovets is quite archetypal.

At the same time, the life of an ordinary person for Grishkovets turns out to be joyful: even if there are sad episodes, they still cannot spoil the overall bright impression. All troubles are drowned in a sweetly benevolent and forgiving style of presentation. Grishkovets, like a kind storyteller, lulls the neurotic generation of 30-40 year olds who have experienced more than one crisis.

Points

• Awards - 1(didn't receive anything).
• Expert recognition - 3(critics treat him coldly, but new books are still reviewed).
• Circulations - 4(in recent years, the average circulation is more than 100 thousand copies).
• Availability of fans - 3(there are active Grishkovets fan clubs).
• Publicity - 4(appears in the press and on television, hosted his own TV show, but ultimately considered this experience unsuccessful).
• Availability of film adaptations - 4(There are many theatrical productions based on the works of Grishkovets).
• Reputation - 3(he is not a moral authority by choice, since he prefers not to speak publicly on global issues at all).
• Total 22

9-10 place

Aleksey Ivanov

What did you get it for?
For glorifying the Russian province and equalizing its rights with the capitals.

How he does it
Ivanov opened a window to the east of Russia, giving his Perm a semi-sacred status. It is possible that it was through this window that Marat Gelman and state money for culture came to Perm.

It cannot be said that before Ivanov no one had ever written about the Russian province. For example, Leonid Yuzefovich himself lived for many years in Perm, and the action of his “Kazarosa” takes place in this city. But it was Ivanov who managed to create a persistent myth about the self-sufficiency of the province in our centripetal country, where, according to the generally accepted opinion, everything that exists strives to move to Moscow or at least to St. Petersburg.

In “The Heart of Parma” and “The Gold of Rebellion,” the Perm version of history turns out to be much more interesting than the official one, which comes from Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the official version - kings, emperors, serfdom, decrees, ministers, riots and wars, everything boring and faceless; in Perm - magic, fighting elk, siege sleighs, mysterious Voguls, beautiful rituals and the great Chusovaya River.

Points

• Awards - 1(did not receive anything, although appeared on the shortlists several times).
• Expert recognition - 4(among critics, Ivanov has both ardent supporters and ardent opponents).
• Circulations - 3(average circulation no more than 100 thousand copies).
• Presence of fans - 5(the Perm public carries Ivanov in its arms, especially in his confrontation with Marat Gelman. Role-playing games are held based on his books, and in the summer of 2009 the “Heart of Parma” festival named after Ivanov was held in Perm).
• Publicity - 3(rarely leaves Perm, does not strive to become a public figure, but gives interviews).
• Availability of film adaptations - 1(negotiations are underway, but the matter has not yet reached filming).
• Reputation - 5(moral authority, has a reputation as a sage from the Ural hinterland, to whom you can turn on particularly important issues).
• Total 22

Illustrations: Maria Sosnina