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Tolstoy, Pasternak, Pushkin--everyone knows Russia's got great literature. In fact, it's not even that closely guarded a secret that Western authors, in general, "are in love with Mother Russia," as AD Miller notes at The Guardian. John Le Carré took inspiration from Russia, as have a number of more modern English-language writers. Miller, however, sets out to explain why this is the case: "The vogue for Russian-themed novels reflects Russia's enticing turbulence," he begins. "But I think it also tells us something about our own moral anxieties."

First you've got folks like Gary Shteyngart who, born in the Soviet Union and later emigrating to Noth America, "inherited a folk memory of suffering, plus the minutely descriptive Russian language. The dying Soviet Union," Miller explains, "in which shortages could sometimes be overcome by ruses and yarns, was a natural breeding ground for fabulists." Its collapse also afforded an enticing sense of "disorientation." Meanwhile, "writers born elsewhere tend to be captivated first by the grandeur and reckless honesty of the great Russian authors." The "all-too-real elements of the Russian 20th century," too, provided great fodder for novels. Though the country has since calmed down, Miller admits, "Russia's sheer eventfulness is still a pull."