SUMMARY:

This article discusses the thematic, philosophical, and aesthetic coherence of Boris Akunin’s prose. Akunin’s recent novel A Path to the Promised Land (Doroga v Kitezh, 2021) is examined in relation to other volumes from the book series History of the Russian State, the detective novels about Erast Fandorin, the book series the Family Album (2012–), and the novel Seasons (2011). The argument concerns the ideas that motivate the writer’s work: similar ethical principles inform Akunin’s positive characters; regardless of the time and place of action, they all face the dilemma of finding their place in a politically unstable society. Akunin’s heroes maintain high ethical standards and live meaningful lives in the midst of challenging and even catastrophic events. Whether or not they cannot align themselves with ideologies that dominate the societies in which they live, they still adjust to the different political circumstances insofar as these do not prevent them from behaving morally and serving their respective communities. Like Confucianism, this philosophical position has distinct political and social dimensions that inspire the writer’s entire oeuvre. Although the author highlights his heroes’ community awareness, his narratives suggest that an individual’s moral duty does not necessarily imply loyalty to a particular political force or the state. Instead, the writer considers how individuals can preserve their moral integrity while contributing to the public good. Such a position resonates well with the cosmopolitanism of Akunin’s heroes, which suggests that maintaining historical, physical, and cultural distance is considered necessary in order to view Russia’s problems in a productive way. This vision calls for improving society through perfecting each of its members and through improving state institutions so that they allow individual perfectibility and, as a result, an evolution of society overall. The political dimension of Akunin’s prose indicates a new development in post-Soviet literature. While Russia’s war against Ukraine is resurrecting the ideological divides that were typical of Soviet literature (mainstream and dissident), as this essay demonstrates, a turn to more political awareness in popular literature was already perceivable before the war.