ARKADY AND BORIS STRUGATSKY

The two brothers 'Arkady' (Арка́дий, August 28, 1925 – October 12, 1991) and 'Boris' (Бори́с, born April 14, 1933) ' Strugatsky' (Струга́цкий; alternate spelling: 'Strugatski', also 'Strugatskii') are Soviet Russian science fiction authors who collaborated on their fiction.

Contents

Life and work

Noon Universe

Tributes

Works

Novels

Short stories

Short story collections

Solo works

Trivia

See also

External links

Life and work

The Strugatsky brothers (Бра́тья Струга́цкие), as they are usually called, became the best-known Soviet science fiction writers with a well developed fan base. Their early work was influenced by Ivan Yefremov. Their most famous novel ''Piknik na obochine'' has been translated into English as ''Roadside Picnic'' in 1977 and was filmed by Andrei Tarkovsky under the title ''Stalker''.
Several other works have been translated into English, but did not receive even a fraction of the critical acclaim of Russian audiences. There are three chief factors responsible:
first, that failings inevitably arise when an attempt is made to translate colloquial Russian into a language that does not very well support its grammatical structure; second, that a basic understanding of the rigid mindset promoted by the Stalinist regime is a prerequisite to being able to see the contrast and rejection of uniformity that is evident in every one of the Strugatskys' works; and finally, that much of the humor of works such as ''Monday Begins on Saturday'' comes from hundreds of years' worth of cultural and literary allusions.
It should be noted, however, that the Strugatsky brothers were and still are popular in many countries, including Poland, Bulgaria, and Germany, where most of their works were available in both East and West Germany.
The brothers were Guests of Honour at the 1987 World Science Fiction Convention, held in Brighton, England.

Noon Universe

Several of the books written by the Strugatskys take part in the same universe, known as The World of Noon; another unofficial and perhaps less-known title is the Wanderers Universe. The name derives from the title of one of their texts, ''. Among the main characteristics of Noon Universe are a very high level of social, scientific, and technological development, high creativity of the general population, and very significant increases in the level of societal maturity compared to either the modern world or any of those known to exist. For instance, this world knows no monetary stimulation (indeed, money does not exist), yet every person is engaged in a profession that interests him or her. The Earth of Noon Universe is a governed by a global technocratic council composed of the world's leading scientists and philosophers.
Noon Universe was described by the authors as the world in which they would like to live and work. It became highly influential for at least a generation of Soviet people, e.g. a person could speak with quotes from Strugatsky books sure of being understood. At first the authors thought of the Noon Universe to come into reality "by itself", then they realized that the only way to achieve it is inventing the High Theory of Upbringing, making upbringing of each person a unique deed.
One of the important story arcs of those books is how the advanced human civilization covertly steers the development of those considered less advanced. Agents of humans are known as Progressors. At the same time, some humans suspect that a very advanced spacefaring race called Wanderers exists and is 'progressing' humanity itself.

Tributes

Several writers have to a varying degree paid their tribute to the works of Strugatsky brothers.
Sergey Lukyanenko in his dilogy ''The Stars Are Cold Toys'' has the main character visit a world that is in many aspects strikingly similar to Earth from Noon Universe but in truth is revealed to be fundamentally different and oppressive.
The plot of Kir Bulychev's novella about Alice's adventures ''Vacations in Space, or the Planet Five-Four'' is based on finding a secret base of mysterious "Wanderers" (Странники), an extinct highly advanced civilization. He also depicted his own Zone in the story ''Save Galya!''.
In late 1990s, a three-volume collection of fiction by notable contemporary Russian science fiction authors, titled ''The Time of the Apprentices'' (Время учеников), was published with an endorsement of Boris Strugatsky. Each piece in the collection was a sequel to one of Strugatskys' books.

Works

Novels

English title	Russian title	Published in Russian	Published in English	Type of work
''From Beyond''	''Извне''	1958	1982	novella
''The Land of Crimson Clouds''	''Страна багровых туч''	1959	N/A	novel
''The Way to Amalthea'' (also known as ''Destination: Amalthea'')	''Путь на Амальтею''	1960	1963	short novel
''	''Полдень, XXII век''	1962	1978	novel / short story collection
''Space Apprentice'' (a.k.a. ''Probationers'', includes ''The Gigantic Fluctuation'' short story)	''Стажеры''	1962	1981	novel
''Escape Attempt''	''Попытка к бегству''	1962	1982	short novel
''Far Rainbow''	''Далёкая Радуга''	1963	1979	novel
''Hard to Be a God''	''Трудно быть богом''	1964	1973	novel
''Monday Begins on Saturday''	''Понедельник начинается в субботу''	1965	1977	novel
''The Final Circle of Paradise''	''Хищные вещи века''	1965	1976	novel
''Disquiet'' (initial variant of ''Snail on the Slope'')	''Беспокойство''	1990 ''(written in 1965)''	N/A	novel
''Snail on the Slope''	''Улитка на склоне''	1966-68 ''(written 1965)''	1980	novel
''The Ugly Swans''	''Гадкие лебеди'' (a.k.a. ''Время дождя'')	1987 ''(written 1966-67)''	1972	novel
''The Second Invasion from Mars'' (a.k.a. ''The Second Martian Invasion'')	''Второе нашествие марсиан''	1968	1970	novel
''Tale of the Troika''	''Сказка о Тройке''	1968	1977	novel
''Hotel Of The Dead Alpinist'' (also known as ''Inspector Glebsky's Puzzle'')	''Отель «У Погибшего Альпиниста»''	1970	1982	novel
''Prisoners of Power'' (also known as ''The Inhabited Island'')	''Обитаемый остров''	1971	1977	novel
''Space Mowgli''	''Малыш''	1971	1982	novel
''Roadside Picnic''	''Пикник на обочине''	1972	1977	novel
''The Kid from Hell''	''Парень из преисподней''	1974	1982	novel
''Definitely Maybe''	''За миллиард лет до конца света''	1977	1978	novel
''The Doomed City''	''Град обреченный''	1988-89 ''(written 1970-75)''	N/A	novel
''Tale of Friendship and Non-friendship''	''Повесть о дружбе и недружбе''	1980	N/A	novel
''Beetle in the Anthill''	''Жук в муравейнике''	1980	1980	novel
''Limping Fate''	''Хромая судьба''	1986	N/A	novel
''The Time Wanderers''	''Волны гасят ветер''	1986	1987	novel
''Overburdened with Evil''	''Отягощённые злом''	1988	N/A	novel

Short stories

English title	Russian title	Published in Russian	Published in English	Comments
''The White Cone of the Alaid''	''Белый конус Алаида''	1959	1968
''The Mu Man''	''Человек из Пасифиды''	1962	N/A
''The Gigantic Fluctuation''	''Гигантская флюктуация''	1962	1973	included in the novel ''Space Apprentice''
''Wanderers and Travelers''	''О странствующих и путешествующих''	1963	1966	included in the novel '' as ''Pilgrims and Wayfarers''

Short story collections

Short stories originally published in ''Six Matches'':

English title	Russian title	Published in Russian	Published in English
''Six Matches''	''Шесть спичек''	1958	1961
''Spontaneous Reflex'' (also known as ''Initiative'')	''Спонтанный рефлекс''	1958	1959
''Forgotten Experiment''	''Забытый эксперимент''	1959	N/A
''The Ordeal of SKIBR''	''Испытание СКИБР''	1959	N/A
''Special Assumptions''	''Частные предположения''	1959	N/A
''An Emergency Case''	''Чрезвычайное происшествие''	1960	1966

Short stories originally published as part of the novel '':

English title	Russian title	Published in Russian	Published in English
''Night on Mars''	''Ночь в пустыне''	1960	1978
''Almost the Same''	''Почти такие же''	1960	1978
''Old-timer''	''Перестарок''	1961	1978
''The Conspirators''	''Злоумышленники''	1962	1978
''Chronicle''	''Хроника''	1961	1978
Two from the Taimyr	''Двое с «Таймыра»''	1961	1978
''The Moving Roads''	''Самодвижущиеся дороги''	1961	1978
''Cornucopia''	''Скатерть-самобранка''	1961	1978
''Homecoming''	''Возвращение'' (also known as ''Известные люди'' and ''Пациенты доктора Протоса''	1962	1978
''Langour of the Spirit''	''Томление духа''	1962	1978
''The Assaultmen''	''Десантники''	1961	1978
''Deep Search''	''Глубокий поиск'' (a.k.a. ''Моби Дик'')	1960	1978
''Pilgrims and Wayfarers'' (also known as ''Wanderers and Travelers'')	''О странствующих и путешествующих''	1963	1978
''The Planet with all the Conveniences''	''Благоустроенная планета''	1961	1978
''The Mystery of the Hind Leg''	''Загадка задней ноги'' (a.k.a. ''Великий КРИ'')	1961	1978
''Natural Science in the Spirit World''	''Естествознание в мире духов''	1962	1978
''Candles Before the Control Board''	''Свечи перед пультом''	1961	1978
''Defeat''	''Поражение''	1960	1978
''The Meeting''	''Свидание'' (a.k.a. ''Люди, люди...'')	1961	1978
''What You Will Be Like''	''Какими вы будете''	1961	1978

Solo works

Following titles have been published by Arkady Strugatsky under the pseudonym 'S. Yaroslavtsev' (C. Ярославцев):

English title	Russian title	Published in Russian	Published in English	Type of work
''The Expedition in Purgatory''	''Экспедиция в преисподнюю''	1974	N/A	novel
''The Details of Nikita Vorontsov's Life''	''Подробности жизни Никиты Воронцова''	1984	1989	novella
''Devil Amongst People''	''Дьявол среди людей''	1991	N/A	novel

Following titles have been published by Boris Strugatsky under the pseudonym 'S. Vititsky' (С. Витицкий):

English title	Russian title	Published in Russian	Published in English	Type of work
''Search for Designation or Twenty Seventh Theorem of Ethics''	''Поиск предназначения, или Двадцать седьмая теорема этики''	1994	N/A	novel
''The Powerless Ones of this World''	''Бессильные мира сего''	2003	N/A	novel

Trivia

The asteroid 3054 Strugatskia, discovered in 1977 was named after the Strugatsky brothers.
Soviet film Charodey (1982) is loosely based on the novel Monday Begins on Saturday.

See also

★ Noon Universe

★ 21st century

★ 22nd century

★ List of heroic fictional scientists

★ Planets in science fiction

External links

★ Includes the complete works in Russian and selected translations

★ Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The Complete Works

★
★ Includes free library, bibliography of their books translated in English and other languages and awards sections

★ Stalkers of Russian Science Fiction – the Strugatsky Brothers