Pisat’ v Stol: ‘Uncensored’ Self-Publishing on Russian Fanfiction Websites

Notwithstanding increasingly severe censorship and the influence of politics in the official publication system, some Russian writers have found a way to take back their freedom of speech in a space of their own: the virtual communities of fanfiction archives. Renouncing the glory of an official publication and gaining the anonymity of the web, Russian ‘wreaders’ have created an online literary dissemination space where censorship can be bypassed, and the imbalances of the current publication system can be levelled out. Through the presentation of the results of an online survey and of interviews, this contribution aims at shedding light on the inner workings of Russian online literature and literary society. Despite being studied in an Anglo-American context and perspective, fanfiction has largely been ignored by the Russian mainstream literary world, and this invisibility has granted a level of freedom that is unreachable through regular publishing, giving voices to a wider range of people and inspiring a new approach to the study of contemporary Russian literature. Russian writers and readers have established a renewed samizdat sub-culture, and are building on a long tradition of anti-government literary movements using the tools of the digital era. With this contribution, the author hopes to bring attention to the phenomenon of Russian fanfiction in order to suggest a new approach to Russian literature, that gives voice to the discreet but strong communities of a new generation of dissident writers.