In 2017, the arrival of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States skyrocketed sales of the best-known dystopian classic. A few days after his possession, the novel “1984”of George Orwellreached first place in sales on the Amazon website in that country.
Currently, that same work tops the list of e-book sales in Russia in the fiction category, the LitRes service reported on Tuesday. Its sales have increased by 45% this year, coinciding with the start in February of the Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine.
This dystopia published in 1949 describes an oppressive society in which a Big Brother controls every last detail of its inhabitants’ lives, which many considered a fierce criticism of the Union soviet.
Although banned in the USSR, “1984” It was published in the 1960s as a “samizdat” (underground publication) and was very popular among Soviet dissidents. In KGB reports, Orwell was listed as one of the most critical writers of the Soviet totalitarian system.
Orwell acknowledged being a great admirer of the Russian Yevgueni Zamyatin and his work “We” (1921), considered the precursor of “1984” and “A Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley.
In 1945 the British novelist, who became disenchanted with communism during the Spanish Civil War, had already published Animal Farm, a brutal satire of Stalinism.
The Russian leader, vladimir Putinamended the Russian Constitution in 2020 to remove presidential term limits, so he could remain in power until 2036.
Since the end of last year, the Kremlin has persecuted the democratic opposition, the independent press and human rights organizations, and since the start of the military intervention has silenced any hint of protest against the military campaign in Ukraine.
According to the most recent polls, more than half of Russians now favor entering into peace negotiations with Ukraine.