UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Searching for Identity: The Russian Idea in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Fantastika Film Adaptation Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/39d6z1zc Author O'Dell, Jesse Brown Publication Date 2019 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Searching for Identity: The Russian Idea in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Fantastika Film Adaptation A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures by Jesse Brown O’Dell 2019 © Copyright by Jesse Brown O’Dell 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Searching for Identity: The Russian Idea in the Soviet and Post-Soviet Fantastika Film Adaptation by Jesse Brown O’Dell Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2019 Professor Ronald W. Vroon, Chair What is the role of sociocultural history in the evolution of national identity? How is the worldview of Russian citizens reflected in contemporary art and popular culture? My dissertation, which examines narratives of national identity in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, approaches these questions and others through an historical analysis of Russian fantastika film adaptations and the literary works upon which they are based. Illustrating transitions in perceptions of Russian identity as they are reflected in over thirty examples of Soviet and post-Soviet fantastika, this project provides a critical reconsideration of historical theories on the “Russian idea” and offers new perspectives on what it means to be Russian in the twenty-first century. My study employs a synthesis of approaches from the fields of cultural history, literature, film, and gender studies. The primary hypothesis is that it is possible, through an historical ii analysis of fantastika film adaptations (and their corresponding literary sources), to obtain a fundamental understanding of post-Soviet culture by examining crucial transformations in the Russian worldview over the course of a century; namely, from 1917 to 2017. These transformations, viewed through the lens of sociocultural history, provide insight into the essential features of national identity in contemporary Russia. Fantastika, a genre which includes science fiction, fantasy, gothic horror, and other works involving fantastical elements, is a highly influential force in the Russian literary and cinematic traditions. Particularly during periods of severe censorship, fantastika played an integral role in the dissemination of novel (or “unofficial”) worldviews. Employing alien planets, outer space, and other fantastical settings, Soviet authors and directors developed fictional macrocosms with which to juxtapose contemporary reality and provide commentary on issues relevant to modern society. In the post-Soviet period, techniques borrowed from their predecessors have enabled artists to continue in this tradition, allowing them to offer fresh perspectives on Russia and its place in global society. Russian national identity has been a subject of international debate for at least three centuries. This dissertation reconsiders models promoted by Russian intellectuals in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (including Petr Chaadaev, Sergei Uvarov, Nikolai Berdiaev, and Vladimir Bibler) and employs techniques developed by contemporary Western observers (including Birgit Beumers, Eliot Borenstein, and Stephen Norris) to offer a revised assessment of Russian national identity in the twenty-first century. It advances, reframes, and challenges some of the conclusions drawn by these figures by analyzing fantastika film adaptations in the context of their (for the most part persuasive) theories. My hope is that this project will be considered a meaningful contribution to the study of Russian culture in the modern age. iii The dissertation of Jesse Brown O’Dell is approved. Gail D. Lenhoff Stephen M. Norris Vadim Shneyder Ronald W. Vroon, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2019 iv Dedicated to the Memory of Professor Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract................................................................................................................ ii Table of Contents............................................................................................. vi Acknowledgments............................................................................................ ix Vita........................................................................................................................ x Introduction........................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: From the Beginnings of Fantastika Film to the End of the Stalin Era........................................................................................................... 15 Part I. Early History of Russian Film.................................................................... 16 Part II. The Genesis of Soviet Identity: Aelita and the Foundations of Fantastika Fiction (1920-1929)............................................................................................... 21 a. Aleksei Tolstoi’s Aelita........................................................................... 27 b. Iakov Protazanov’s Aelita....................................................................... 35 Part III. Stalinist Identity: Socialist Realism and the Nadir of Fantastika Fiction (1930-1956)........................................................................................................... 46 a. Vladimir Vladko’s Idut roboty................................................................ 50 b. Aleksander Andrievskii’s Gibel’ sensatsii.............................................. 60 c. Grigorii Adamov’s Taina dvukh okeanov............................................... 68 d. Konstantin Pipinashvili’s Taina dvukh okeanov..................................... 75 vi Chapter 2: Post-Stalinist Fantastika: Cultural Liberalization during the Thaw and Stagnation Periods…………………………….……....…. 82 Part I. Soviet Identity during the Thaw: Humanism over Politics in Chelovek- amfibiia and Tumannost’ andromedy.................................................................... 83 a. Aleksandr Beliaev’s Chelovek-amfibiia.................................................. 86 b. Vladimir Chebotarev and Genadii Kazanskii’s Chelovek-amfibiia........ 92 c. Ivan Efremov’s Tumannost’ andromedy............................................... 100 d. Evgenii Sherstobitov’s Tumannost’ andromedy................................... 111 Part II. Soviet Fantastika during the Era of Stagnation: Auteur Cinema and Dissident Identity................................................................................................. 120 a. Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris........................................................................ 126 b. Andrei Tarkovskii’s Solaris.................................................................. 139 c. The Strugatskii Brothers and Piknik na obochine................................. 158 d. Andrei Tarkovskii’s Stalker.................................................................. 187 Chapter 3: The Russian Idea in late-Soviet and post-Soviet Fantastika......................................................................................................... 201 Part I: Clarity, Collapse, Chaos: Anxiety and History in Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein and Rokovye iaitsa (1986-1999).............................................................. 203 a. Boris and Arkadii Strugatskii’s Trudno byt’ bogom............................. 205 b. Peter Fleischmann’s Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein........................ 210 c. Mikhail Bulgakov’s Rokovye iaitsa....................................................... 224 d. Sergei Lomkin’s Rokovye iaitsa............................................................ 231 vii Part II: Twenty-First-Century Russian Fantastika: Dialogues on Identity in the Putin Era.............................................................................................................. 244 a. Sergei Lukianenko’s Nochnoi Dozor.................................................... 246 b. Timur Bekmambetov’s Nochnoi dozor and Dnevnoi dozor.................. 265 c. Boris and Arkadii Strugatskii’s Gadkie lebedi...................................... 279 d. Konstantin Lopushanskii’s Gadkie lebedi............................................. 288 e. Boris and Arkadii Strugatskii’s Obitaemyi ostrov................................. 298 f. Fedor Bondarchuk’s Obitaemyi ostrov and Obitaemyi ostrov: skhvatka..................................................................................................... 302 g. Viktor Pelevin’s Generation ‘P’........................................................... 311 h. Viktor Ginzburg’s Generation P........................................................... 324 i. Aleksei German’s Trudno byt’ bogom................................................... 331 j. Marina and Sergei Diachenko’s Ritual.................................................. 338 k. Indar Dzhendubaev’s On drakon.......................................................... 342 Conclusion....................................................................................................... 348