Invading the past: Russia and science fiction
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 1 August 2023
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Science fiction flourished from the earliest days of the Soviet Union. A rare space to explore other realms and utopian dreams of progress. But with the Soviet Union's collapse different narratives bubbled up. Many of them reactionary, imperial, violent with one sub genre flourishing above all - Popadantsy: accidental time travel where protagonists return to World War Two or the Imperial past to set the path of Russian history on the 'right' course, Historian Catherine Merridale explores how the once visionary world of Russian science fiction shifted in the time of Vladimir Putin to become a reactionary playground.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | excitement here in New Zealand has been ignited for this tournament. |
| 0:04.3 | Hearing our fans being behind us is just unforgettable. |
| 0:08.1 | World Football at the Women's World Cup from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:12.8 | We're going all the way, baby. |
| 0:14.0 | Find it wherever you get your BBC podcasts. |
| 0:18.8 | Welcome to the future like it's never been before. |
| 0:22.8 | I'm Catherine Meridow and this is the documentary on the BBC World Service. |
| 0:28.1 | I'm about to take a journey into the dark and violent world of Russian science fiction. |
| 0:33.2 | It's not a place to venture if you haven't come prepared. |
| 0:36.8 | We live in the wrong world. |
| 0:39.5 | We vegetate in an alternative reality. |
| 0:43.0 | In reality, Russian officers of the Imperial Russian Space Forces were the first people on the move. |
| 0:49.3 | Something's happened to Russia's fantasies. |
| 0:52.2 | Something's happened to Russia's dreams. |
| 0:54.7 | In Russia, the future has been amputated, completely amputated. |
| 0:58.4 | No, in Russia, there is no sense of future. |
| 1:00.4 | World War III is on the threshold and Russia will not stand aside. |
| 1:05.5 | The main frontline of the future war will be the Ukrainian Front. |
| 1:11.0 | They change the discourse, the way of thinking, |
| 1:13.6 | the way of speaking, about things which used to be taboo. |
| 1:17.3 | Don't just dismiss all this as pulp. |
| 1:20.0 | Read these books and witness the unfolding of an invasion. |
... |
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