A Nation Dreams of Itself

Imaginary Worlds

Eric Molinsky

Arts, Science Fiction, Fiction, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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. You can help donate to organizations resettling refugees like Direct Relief, Mercy Corps, International Medical Corps and Save the Children. This episode is sponsored by Brooklinen. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Imaginary Worlds, a show about how we create them and why we suspend
0:06.6	our disbelief, I'm Eric Mollinsky.
0:11.0	Like many people in the world, I can't stop thinking about Ukraine.
0:15.4	And Ukraine was never just a place on a map for me.
0:18.4	The Mollinsky family emigrated from Ukraine.
0:21.7	My grandfather was 15 when he came here and he told us many stories about his childhood
0:26.2	in Ukraine.
0:28.4	So in the last few weeks, I began to wonder what is Ukrainian science fiction and fantasy?
0:35.0	How does a country dream about itself through its speculative fiction?
0:40.1	Now back in 2017, I did an episode about Soviet science fiction.
0:44.8	So I reached out to one of my guests from that episode for suggestions and she put me
0:49.3	in touch with a writer in Ukraine.
0:52.0	And that person put me in touch with more writers in Ukraine.
0:55.7	I wasn't sure if they'd be able to talk with me, but I got the sense that they're actually
0:59.9	glad to have something to focus on besides the war, although the war was never far from
1:05.1	their minds.
1:07.5	Like I spoke with Maria Galina.
1:09.7	For now she's staying put in her home in Odessa.
1:12.7	Alright, well first of all, how are you doing?
1:16.5	I don't know really, because I'm a notice and there is comparatively calm here, unless
1:24.0	some shooting from the sea.
1:26.7	But to compare, for example, for Harkov or Keev, it is very, very calm.
	...

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