"I don't predict in my books, I accept certain waves."
This is how Vladimir Sorokin explained in an interview why many of his works, written twenty years ago, are coming true in modern Russia.
However, there is another version: what if a secret admirer of Vladimir Georgievich's work has entrenched himself somewhere in the Presidential Administration and is constructing our lives according to his free fantasies?
For Vladimir Sorokin's birthday, we selected quotes from his books that blend Russia's past, present, and future.
The Great Wall grows and grows, fencing Russia off from external enemies. And the sovereign's oprichniks are tearing our internal enemies to pieces. After all, beyond the Great Wall are the damned cyberpunks who illegally suck our gas, hypocritical Catholics, shameless Protestants, insane Buddhists, evil Muslims, and simply depraved atheists, Satanists who shake in the squares to cursed music, frostbitten People's Commissars, insatiable sodomites who drill each other's asses in the dark, sinister werewolves who change their God-given image, and greedy plutocrats, and malicious virtual beings, and merciless technotrons, and sadists, and fascists, and mega-onanists.
Sugar Kremlin, 2008
🔸The Tsar's father, the late Nikolai Platonovich, had a good idea of eliminating all foreign supermarkets and replacing them with Russian kiosks. And that each kiosk would have two items for the people to choose from. This is wise and profound. For our God-bearing people must choose from two, not three, or even thirty-three. By choosing from two, the people find peace of mind, are imbued with confidence in the future, avoid unnecessary, restless fuss, and therefore become satisfied. And with such a satisfied people, great things can be accomplished.
Everything is fine in the stall, but my head just can’t understand one thing: why are there only two of every product, like creatures on Noah’s Ark, but only one cheese, “Russian”?
“Day of the Oprichnik”, 2006
In Moscow, only government officials and the wealthy drive gas and electricity. Ordinary people and public transportation make do with biofuel. This is mainly potato pulp, fortunately Muscovy hasn't been short of potatoes since the time of Catherine the Great. In fact, this potato fumes impart a cloying, musty taste to the local air, permeating everything around it.
Telluria, 2013
🔸Marfusha taps on the keyboard, enters the Internet, and tears off school news sheets from the Tree of Learning:
"Christmas prayers for students of parochial schools."
"All-Russian competition of ice sculpture of the sovereign's horse Budimir."
"Ski race with Chinese robots."
"Sledding from Sparrow Hills."
“The initiative of the students of the 62nd school.”
Marfusha came to the last leaflet:
"Students of Church Parish School No. 62 decided to continue their patriotic support for the Bolshevo brick factory under the state program "Great Russian Wall" on the Bright Feast of the Nativity of Christ."
Sugar Kremlin
🔸— Glory to the Tsar! — exclaims Batya.
Let's pick it up three times:
- Glory! Glory! Glory!
"Goyda!" the Tsar replies and smiles.
- Goyda! Goyda! Goyda! - rushes through the hall like a ninth wave.
We sit, our faces raised to him. Our sun is waiting for us to calm down. He looks warmly, fatherly:
— How was your day?
— Word and Deed! Good! Glory to God, Sire!
"Day of the Oprichnik"
🔸After sipping some raspberry tea, I scan the news: there's more theft by clerks and zemstvo officials on the North Caucasian section of the Southern Wall, the Far Eastern Pipeline will remain blocked until a petition from the Japanese, the Chinese are expanding settlements in Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk, the trial of money changers from the Ural Treasury continues, the Tatars are building a smart palace for the Tsar's Jubilee, the brainiacs from the Medical Academy are finishing work on the aging gene, the Murom gusli players will give two concerts in the White Stone City, Count Trifon Bagrationovich Golitsyn beat his young wife, there will be no flogging on Sennaya in Svyato-Petrograd in January, the ruble has strengthened another half kopeck against the yuan.
"Day of the Oprichnik"
Sixteen months ago, six members of the mystical, anti-Russian sect "Yarosvet" were arrested in Moscow. After drawing a map of Russia on a white cow, they performed a magical ritual, dismembered the animal, and began distributing the pieces to remote regions of the Russian state, feeding them to foreigners. The cow's hindquarters were transported to the Far East, cooked, and fed to Japanese settlers; the flank and belly were delivered to Barnaul, made into dumplings and fed to the Chinese; the brisket was used to make borscht, which was fed to eighteen Ukrainian shuttle traders in Belgorod; in Roslavl, they made cutlets from the cow's front legs for Belarusian farm laborers; and the head was used to make jellied meat, which was fed to three Estonian old women near Pskov.
Sugar Kremlin
🔸The American looked at him carefully through his dark glasses:
"We need, Vanya, a secret number that provides access to the internal communications of your heavy aircraft, which carry nuclear explosive devices and carry out their usual flights over the northern borders of your state.
Ivan sank down helplessly onto the grass and shook his head:
- No. I won't do that.
The American laughed quietly, put his hand on Ivan's head and said, looking ominously at the sunset:
- You will do whatever I command.
There was an agonizing pause.
"Cut!!" the director shouted and ran towards the actors.
Sugar Kremlin
