Literature as a Tool of Propaganda: the Case of Russian Contemporary Military Fiction (2009-2014)
Russian invasion in 2014 caused an outburst of Ukrainian so-called war literature – novels, sketches, short stories, essays, diaries, and memoirs. Soldiers, veterans, volunteers, and witnesses wrote many of these books. In 2019 more than 200 books on the Ukrainian-Russian war were published, and now that number is much bigger. As translating took time, numerous works haven’t been translated into English yet. But the following books are available for English-speaking audiences: The Airport by Serhii Loiko (2015), Apricots of Donbas by Liuba Yakymchyk (2015), Ukrainian Diaries: Dispatches from the Kyiv by Andrii Kurkov (2015), Words from War: New Poems from Ukraine, edited by Oksana Maksymchyk and Max Rosochinsky (2017), The Orphanage by Serhii Zhadan (2017), Absolute Zero by Artem Chekh (2017), Grey Beez by Andrii Kurkov (2018), In Isolation by Stanislav Aseev (2018), Daughter by Tamara Horikha-Zernia (2019), etc.
In Russia, books about contemporary Ukrainian-Russian started appearing in 2009: Maksim Kalashnikov’s “Independent Ukraine. Collapse of the project” (2009), Fedor Berezin’s “War 2010. Ukrainian Front” (2009), Georgiy Savitskiy’s “The battlefield is Ukraine. Broken Trident” (2009), Fedor Berezin “War 2011” (Moscow, 2010).
These books described the full-scale military invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine that was supposed to happen in 2010-2011. Mentioned novels are affordable and easily assessable, and they consist of numerous narratives that the Russian propaganda machine is using now. These books were presented and got awards in “Star Bridge,” a war fantasy language festival held in Kharkiv from 1991 to 2014. The festival is supposed to connect two countries, but only books that are written in Russian can be nominated. And the jury is quite specific, for example, Kharkiv Academy of Internal Affairs. Nevertheless, due to the poor aesthetic quality, these books have never been translated into different languages and are fully oriented on internal use (for Russian speakers).
After the invasion in 2014, Russian media started spreading the word that great Russian writers predicted war in Ukraine. Mentioned novels have poor artistic qualities. Nevertheless, Russian media highlight that such literature expresses high truth contrary to more sophisticated works.
Analyzing these works, we might observe several narratives used by Russian media and authorities to justify war, war crimes, and acts of terrorism. We may see how contemporary Russian writers continue the tradition of using literature for propaganda. Studies on the soviet novel as a tool for propaganda have already been conducted, for example, by Katerine Clark. But it is the first time we may discuss Russian propaganda during full-scale military invasions and get particular examples of how narratives impact people. And how literature and stories art can share the war experience and resist disinformation on practice.
Speakers:
Maria Shuvalova is a literary critic and lecturer at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Fulbright Scholar (Harriman Institute, Columbia University in the city of New York, 2019–2020). Acquisition Editor at Academic Studies Press and co-founder and head of the non-governmental organization New Ukrainian Academic Community, whose latest projects were the publication of a book by Volodymyr Dibrova Taras Shevchenko: New Perspectives, an international conference The Female Artist as an Icon of National Modernization: The Phenomenon of Lesia Ukrainka in a Comparative Perspective (in Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of the Writer). Projects were implemented in cooperation with such organizations as the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, the Association of Hispanics of Ukraine, Shevchenko Scientific Society in America, and publishing house Bilka. The latest publication is “Nothing New in Mariia’s Story — It’s Just That Centuries-Old Ukrainian Resistance Got Its Voice”, The Ukrainian Quarterly 2, 2022, p. 37-41. When the war started, I and my family felt Kyiv. Since February 25 I was residing in Khmelnytsky district, Ukraine. In a month we returned to Kyiv.