The Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES) at the University of Michigan is pleased to announce an upcoming lecture by writer, poet, literary critic, and journalist Dmitry Bykov entitled “Post-Soviet Satire in Russia and Ukraine.” The lecture will be presented on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 from 5:30-7:00 PM in 1010 Weiser Hall, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. The event is free and open to the public.
The author will provide an overview of the evolution of social satire, humor, and censorship since the 1990s in Russia. He will highlight Russian examples like Viktor Shenderovich’s television show Puppets (Kukli) and selections from the show Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful (KVN). Although Russian satire has gone dormant because writers quit or went into exile, Ukraine’s rising national self-consciousness has allowed satire to flourish. Nationalism, corruption, theft, incompetence, and dependence on the West—all of these vices became the target of harsh, sometimes brutal satire. Bykov will talk about the writings of Ukrainians Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, Maria Galina, Lyubko Deresh, Yuri and Sofya Andrukhovych, and Oksana Zabuzhko, as well as the songs of Vopli Vidoplyasova and Okean Elzy. Drawing on these examples, he will explore how Ukrainians are a self-ironic nation, which has made them phenomenally resistant to any form of totalitarianism.
Dmitry Bykov has written and published approximately 90 books, including 15 novels and 20 collections of poetry. Mr. Bykov is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Big Book and Golden Pen of Russia. He has worked for 17 newspapers, five magazines, and on seven TV shows. Mr. Bykov has taught in nine universities in Russia and the U.S. including Princeton, UCLA, and Cornell. Most of his books are banned in Russia, but several have been translated into seven languages.
Contact: Mary Elizabeth Malinkin | malinkin@umich.edu | 734.764.0351
The University of Michigan Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES) is dedicated to advancing and disseminating interdisciplinary knowledge about the peoples, nations, and cultures of Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Eurasia, past and present. Through its own academic programs and its support of area-focused training and scholarship across U-M’s schools and colleges, CREES helps meet the nation’s ongoing need for experts with deep contextual knowledge who are proficient in the region’s languages. CREES is an affiliate of the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia and constituent unit of the International Institute. For more information, visit ii.umich.edu/crees.
