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<p>Reconciliation is commonly regarded as the final goal in reckoning with past violence. While the concept is deeply rooted in the human rights discourse, its political applications have long fuelled intense debate. The Russian post-Soviet transition vividly illustrates the potential risks of this notion, which can be manipulated to serve a systematic instrumentalization of history and support institutionalized forms of oblivion. This article explores the inherent tensions within the notion of reconciliation through a comparative analysis of two recent Russian novels about Soviet camps: Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s <i>Jacob’s Ladder</i> (2015) and Evgeny Vodolazkin’s <i>The Aviator</i> (2016). Both novels underscore the necessity of confronting and making peace with the past by introducing contemporary characters who reflect on the legacy of Soviet terror and grapple with these historical injustices from a present-day standpoint. As I will argue, these characters serve as mediators for posthumous reconciliation, which is ultimately achieved through an eschatological and religious perspective. While emphasizing this shared drive, the article also sheds light on the distinct ways the two novels articulate reconciliation, especially in relation to the political dimension of the memory of Soviet state terror.</p>

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Figures of reconciliation: making peace with the Soviet terror in contemporary Russian literature

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月9日

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  • Domenico Scagliusi

摘要

Reconciliation is commonly regarded as the final goal in reckoning with past violence. While the concept is deeply rooted in the human rights discourse, its political applications have long fuelled intense debate. The Russian post-Soviet transition vividly illustrates the potential risks of this notion, which can be manipulated to serve a systematic instrumentalization of history and support institutionalized forms of oblivion. This article explores the inherent tensions within the notion of reconciliation through a comparative analysis of two recent Russian novels about Soviet camps: Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s Jacob’s Ladder (2015) and Evgeny Vodolazkin’s The Aviator (2016). Both novels underscore the necessity of confronting and making peace with the past by introducing contemporary characters who reflect on the legacy of Soviet terror and grapple with these historical injustices from a present-day standpoint. As I will argue, these characters serve as mediators for posthumous reconciliation, which is ultimately achieved through an eschatological and religious perspective. While emphasizing this shared drive, the article also sheds light on the distinct ways the two novels articulate reconciliation, especially in relation to the political dimension of the memory of Soviet state terror.