‘Russian literature will fix everything’

Abstract

This chapter looks at the role of Russian literatures in the promotion of Russian culture abroad. Even though Russian classics are globally known and have symbolic value for world culture, literature was of peripheral importance for Soviet and early post-Soviet Russian cultural diplomacy. Yet, in the last decade, literature has been increasingly employed as part of Russia's cultural statecraft strategies. The present chapter focuses on the Read Russia project, which was established in 2012 to promote Russian literature abroad. More specifically, this Russian organisation aims to reacquaint foreign audiences with Russian literature by publishing translations of contemporary and classical Russian literary works as well as by participating in international books fairs. Drawing on materials from my fieldwork during the London Book Fairs 2018 and 2019 and interviews of the directors of this organisation, I examine the objectives of Read Russia for stimulating the interest of foreign audiences in Russian literature and aspiring to improve Russia's external image. However, I argue that, even in English-speaking events, the project's main audiences are often made up by Russian speakers, and therefore, Read Russia should also be interpreted as mobiliser of the diasporic communities.