I'm very excited about this event: five young, diverse Russian writers born after the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Unfortunately the five writers, who represent several regions and whose work crosses multiple genres, barely get a chance to speak, much less read their work. The event is completely dominated by the chair and publisher of the book containing their work, Natasha Perova, and director of the ten-years-running Debut Prize, Olga Slovinkova.

I would have preferred to hear from the young writers, or at least not have been subjected to the self-important ego-stroking that permeated the event. Slovinikova and Perova speak at great length, apparently forgetting that we all came to hear from the writers on the stage.  The five writers, one (Alisa Ganeva) speaking English and four speaking Russian while Perova interprets, are given the chance to give a brief autobiography and description of their work. I think they get about three minutes each - but perhaps I'm being generous.

Alisa Ganyeva, who published her prize-winning work under the male pen name Gulla Khirachev, comes from Dagestan.  She talks briefly about the duality of young people in that region, caught between the west and the Caucuses, a notion reflected in her multilingual story of a boy moving around Dagestan looking for a relative.  Arslan Khasavov, from Chechnya, writes about Russian politics and is working on a Chechen novel.

Alexander Gritsenko, a screenplay writer from Astrakhan on the Volga River, is the most experienced writer of the group; he spent time in Chechnya as a conscript, and later returned as a fundraiser.  He refers to the potentially-awkward political relationship between the writers on stage, based on wars and politics, tells us that he has been criticized by his peers for his alternative perspective on Chechnya, and speaks briefly about the effects of war in the region.

Victor Puchkov lives in the commuter belt around Moscow, and apparently spends much of his time as a commuter on the electrichka.  His recent work contains a central character with diabetes.  The final author, Polina Klyukina, comes from the Ural Mauntains and lives in Perm.  She creates semi-fictional stories based on real characters and events, such as the two prisoners she befriended on Perm-Moscow train.

Audience Q&A is also taken over by Perova and Slovinkova.  Some of the young writers are given a brief opportunity to answer questions, but these are often followed by a lengthy, off-topic monologue by either the director or the chair.  Slovnikova at one point grabs the microphone as it's being passed to one of the young writers, and insists on giving a lengthy answer to a question which could potentially have been treated with much more relevance by one of the writers, who display more patience than I would have under similar circumstances.  The final question comes from an audience member who expresses regret that we didn’t hear more from the writers or hear their work.  In response, Perova tells us to buy the book.

I'm still very curious about the writers who were meant to be showcased at the event, and frustrated by the crass self-importance displayed on stage.  A wasted opportunity to gain a unique glimpse at a new, intriguing generation of Russian writers.