A Nation Dreams of Itself
The invasion of Ukraine has shocked the world, but this conflict has been foreshadowed in Ukrainian and Russian speculative fiction for years. I talk with Ukrainian fantasy writers about how they’ve used fantasy to explore their sense of national identity.
Imaginary Worlds · Eric Molinsky | Daylight Media
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Show Notes
The Russian invasion of Ukraine shocked the world, but this conflict was foreshadowed in Ukrainian and Russian speculative fiction. I talk with several fantasy writers in Ukraine about how they’ve used speculative fiction to break away from Russia’s sphere of influence, and why magic and folklore can be valuable tools to explore and defend their sense of national identity. I also talk with Ukrainian ex-pats in the U.S. about how Russian fantasy and sci-fi has grown increasingly imperialistic in recent years with fantasies of restoring a lost empire. Featuring Maria Galina, Borys Sydiuk, Volodymir Arenev, Svitlana Taratorina, Alex Shvartsman, and Anatoly Belilovsky.
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