Tomáš Glanc's 'The Russian Archipelago' Maps Post-Soviet Culture Through 17 Iconic Figures

In 2011, Tomáš Glanc released 'The Russian Archipelago: Icons of Post-Soviet Culture,' through Revolver Revue in Prague, examining Russian cultural evolution from 1990 to 2010. The work highlights seventeen prominent figures, such as composer Leonid Desiatnikov, poets Elena Fanailova and Fedor Svarovskii, prose authors Vladimir Sorokin, Liudmila Ulitskaia, Viktor Pelevin, Mikhail Shishkin, and Zakhar Prilepin, along with filmmakers Aleksei Fedorchenko and Aleksei Popogrebskii. As a Czech expert on Russian culture, Glanc includes a 45-page introduction addressing changes since Perestroika. The book offers concise portraits of critics and publishers, intertwining the artists while emphasizing high-brow culture, making it accessible for both general readers and academics, who commend its readability and interdisciplinary approach.