Day of the Oprichnik: A Novel (original 2006; edition 2012)

Welcome to new Russia, where the Russian Empire has been restored back to the draconian codes of Ivan the Terrible. Corporal punishment is back and the monarchy is divided once again, but this is the future, the not so distant future for the Russian empire, or is it? Day of the Oprichnik follows a government henchman, an Oprichnik, through a day of grotesque event.

Day of the Oprichnik is a thought provoking Science Fiction novel of the worst possible Russia imagined. But while the book is dark, it also is hilarious and then it has this wonderfully satirical nature about it. Komiaga is the narrator of this gem, an anti-hero and one of the Tsar’s most devoted henchmen. While the humour and satire throughout this book is grotesque, this book is a perfect example of great contemporary Russian literature as well as a political critique.

I will admit I like these types of modern Russian Science Fiction novels, like Super Sad True Love Story, you have this wonderful dystopian backdrop as well as the high tech gadgets like the “mobilov” and then you use this to create delightfully thought provoking plot riddled with satirical elements. These witty and intelligently written books are what I live for.

Komiaga is one of the elites, enforcing the laws of the land, helping the Czar’s to rule with an iron fist for the sake of the motherland and the Russian Orthodox Church. This is my first Vladimir Sorokin novel and I would like to compare this novel to one of Philip K. Dick’s (Man in the High Castle to be exact); there is this wonderfully crafted story and you have these philosophical and political ideas that stick with you well after you have finished the book.

The Telegraph named this book one of the best for 2011 and the New York Review called Sorokin “[the] only real prose writer, and resident genius” of late-Soviet fiction”, just to give you an idea of what to expect. Day of the Oprichnik is deliciously complex, full of garish science fiction and hallucinogenic fish. Komiaga’s day might not be a typical one but it’s full of executions, parties, meetings, oracles, and even the Czarina.

I loved every moment of Day of the Oprichnik, even the moments that made me think “WTF” and for all of the people that have read this book, I want to say one word that will mean something to you but not the others, the word that the person who recommended this book to me said when I finished. That work is “caterpillar”. For everyone else; read the book, enjoy the satire, black humour and Science Fiction elements of this book and also find out what I mean.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/03/08/book-review-day-of-the-oprichnik/ ( )

Like so many dystopias, Day of the Oprichnik is content to merely illustrate a world without adding much in the way of character or plot. Some books can get away with this, if the idea contained within is powerful or new enough to sustain the reader's interest by itself, but most dystopias do not meet this criteria. Generally speaking, dystopias must be graded on a curve: if they can articulate an extreme social or political scenario and demonstrate why and how such a scenario should be avoided, then can be considered at least functional. Day of the Oprichnik fails even this lowered bar. Not only does it lack both a plot and meaningful character development, but, for the average reader, it is impossible to tell what this book is criticizing, much less what that criticism actually consists of.

There is a whole jumble of ideas here, most of which seem to be Russian cultural references that go beyond me. I've been to Russia, speak a little Russian, and maintain a vkontakte profile. Theoretically, I'm the target audience in the English-speaking world, and yet I couldn't make heads or tails of most of this. It is evidently a futuristic version of a tsarist state, with some elements of Soviet communism and 90s oligarchism thrown in. There are some other interesting, but largely undeveloped tidbits: China has become the dominant global power, the West is dependent on Russia for natural resources. But so what? Perhaps Sorokin leaves these threads alone because there is little potential to be mined from them. Mainly, this book is about state violence: it happens, apparently, in Russia, and it is bad. That seems to be the level of social critique offered by Day of the Oprichnik.

Perhaps a better reader than I can explain some more of the references or better tease out some meaning from this book. I'm skeptical, but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise. Until then: if this remains Sorokin at his most "accessible," then English readers should stay away. ( )

Far more accessible than the other works by Sorokin that I've read -- the experimental The Queue and the massive and stunning Ice Trilogy -- this book nonetheless exhibits Sorokin's dazzling writing and paints a damning portrait of power. It is 2028 in Russia and a new tsar is in power, with a regime that combines the worst of the original tsarist reign, Stalin's terror, and the corruption of the post-communist era. Russia has built walls around its boundaries and limits the flow of oil to other countries, while buying virtually all its products from China, now the other great power in the world. And the tsar has recreated the oprichniks, a secret police force modeled on the one employed in the 16th century by Ivan the Terrible; the 21st century oprichniks combine medieval methods of killing and torture with ray-guns, and drive around with the heads of freshly killed dogs on the hoods of their cars.

The novel portrays one day in the life of a high-up oprichnik, Andrei Danilovich Komiaga, from the time he staggers out of bed, massively hungover, until the time he falls unconscious back into it at 4 the next morning. In between, he participates in several executions, travels to Siberia and back, ingests a massive amount of drugs (including some bizarre hallucinogenic fish) and alcohol, oversees a cultural performance, visits a fortune-teller and the seductive wife of the tsar, negotiates "insurance" with Chinese truckers, bonds with his fellow oprichniks both mentally and physically, and reflects on his importance and his love of Russia. As Sorokin portrays them, the oprichniks are almost a cult, albeit an extremely powerful and extremely vicious one, getting together frequently to share meals and vices, and tossing out a variety of repeated phrases such as "Work and Word," "Hail," and "Thank God." Futuristic technology merges with old-fashioned fist fighting, as the oprichniks serve the tsar by putting down "sedition" while enriching themselves at the same time. Religion has made a comeback, and swearing is forbidden, but there seems to be no limit on killing, raping, pillaging, and indulging bodily desires, at least for the elite oprichniks. Power continues to corrupt.

Sorokin intersperses the novel with poems and songs, and I am quite sure that there are many references to Russian literature and history that I completely missed.

Well-written and imaginative, and gutsy in conception, but in my opinion its lack of a fully developed plot kept it from being a fully satisfying novel. It's at least serious and ambitious. ( )

In chaotic and deteriorating political situation the option offered by those who preach strong law and order is tempting. But there is always a price to be paid, no matter what variation of order they suggest. The question is always whose law is it anyway? In Vladimir Sorokin's “Day of Oprichnik” the answer is clear cut: the tzar's and the revitalized feudal system's. The book is set in 2028's Russian empire, where the tzar rules over his subjects, whose human rights are severely limited.

That was an understatement, as in this vision executions are not just public but popular too, freedom of religion and press is non-existent, books are used for burning, torture, public humiliation, confiscation of property is common place and rape by officials is expected. On the “plus” side technologically Russia didn't sink back after it cut itself off from the West: cell-phones, television, jet travels, security system, computers are almost as rampant here as in the West, except less people can afford them. This was possible only because Russia was selling its natural resources, e.g. oil, gas, metals, and the Western world was more than willing to pay for it. As, unlike under communism, the idea of social justice didn't get any lip service, redistribution of good is not a concern: i.e. all belongs to the tzar and those who serve him.

Speaking of the “West” this book gave a new twist to the old joke, that put two overused slogans next to each other.:
Where does capitalism stand? At the brink of a disaster.
Where does socialism stand? Always a step ahead capitalism.
In relation the above where does post-feudalism stand? According to Sorokin everywhere. He describes a solid system, that may “work” for a long time. It “works” only for those who are close to the top, but even they play a hazardous game as they can lose everything at a moment's notice, as it happened to the Tzar's son-in-law. Nevertheless based on the description it could last “for a thousand year”.

I was a bit hesitant to give the title as above, because as far as I know the book hasn't been published in English yet. The Russian title is “Dyeny oprichnika,” but I read it in Hungarian where the title (“Az opricsnyik egy napja”) was the equivalent of “A day of the oprichnik”. In case you are wondering what an oprichnik is here are some excerpts from wikipedia article:
An Oprichnik was a member of an organization established by Tsar Ivan the Terrible to govern the division of Russia known as the Oprichnina (1565-1572.) ... Literal meaning of Oprichnik : Man apart... The Oprichniki were responsible for the torture and murder of internal enemies of the Tsar. Notorious for their violent means of enforcement, they could be compared to modern "death squads" or even secret police. Guided by Ivan, they laid waste to civilian populations.
This book follows a single day of a high-level oprichnik from waking up with a serious hangover, to killing, torturing, visiting an oracle, drinking, using drugs and ending with a communal late night dinner/bacchanalia and one more murder. There you have the story in one sentence. His next day is probably similarly chaotic and violent. But the story is just a vehicle for delivering a vision of a possible future. The dark shadow it casts looms over my imagination as I am thinking of the upcoming (in three weeks) election in Hungary. Hungary is in a situation where going back to strong hand tradition (against liberal democracy) and to the imagined good old days is a “solution” lot of people would like to see to the current economic and moral crisis. Those who actually want to reestablish monarchy are not numerous, so that's not going to happen. But the number of those who would love to see an oprichnina-like organization is growing. I just hope they won't get enough votes. This novel helped me visualize what their rule might look like. Not pretty.