FANDOM IN THE USSR

More than one hundred sf fan clubs have been set up and are now operating in the USSR. In the directory prepared by the Sverdlovsk "Radiant" Fan Club, the figure as of April 1984 was 147, but the number of fan clubs is constantly growing as news arrives about recently created clubs.

The sf fan clubs have been set up in schools and institutes, plants and factories, libraries and booklovers' societies, palaces of Youth and committees of the young Communist League, in editorial boards of newspapers and creative unions, departments of culture, and even in the cinema houses. The geography of sf fan clubs is extensive as well, spreading all the way from Kaliningrad in the west to Vladivostok and Sakhalin in the east, from Murmansk and Dixon Island in the north to Dushanbe in the south. In short, the sf fan clubs spring up everywhere there are sf-minded people.

The flourishing of Soviet science fiction in the sixties brought about a growth in the number of sf fans who were not content with mere reading. Fans brought up on the books of Efremov, the brothers Strugatsky, Lem, Varshavski, Larionoma, Gromova, Altov, Dneprov, Voiskunski, Lukodianov, and others became accustomed to serious talk with the reader as well as to consideration of major problems of today. Each new book by these authors required immediate discussion and exchange of opinions.

The first sf fan clubs in the Soviet Union appeared in the sixties, when Soviet sf first flourished. According to author, fan, and bibliographer I. Khalymbadja, at that time the club movement arose and "crystalized into fan clubs in the major cities of this country, in Moscow, Kharkov, Kiev, Baku, Leningrad, and so on. In Kharkov, for instance, the club meetings used to draw hundreds of sf fans. They met with Ukranian authors such as V. Vladko and N. Dashkiev, and had the privilege of entertaining polish author Stanislaw Lem. The club at the Moscow university, then headed by Vladimir Gakov (now widely known as the leading expert in Anglo-Saxon sf), conducted a most interesting poll among the fans; the results were published in the SF-66 yearbook published by Young Guard publishers."

For some reason most of these clubs soon ceased to exist. The few survivors from the first wave of clubs include the Saratov group operating under the auspices of the university, the Bryansk "Argonaut" club, and a student's group at the University in Kharkov. The present-day sf fan clubs have been created along new organizational and ideological lines.

In the seventies, many of the new sf authors did not begin to compare with those who made the sf scene in the sixties. In terms of sophisticated literary treatment the writings were better, but they had fewer new things to say about man and the world he lives in. Still, in the seventies there began to spring up clubs belonging to the "second wave," such as "Fant" in Khabarovsk, "Probation" in Tbilisi, "Attraction" in Rostov-on-Don, "Rifey" in Perm, and some others. Their activities paved the way for the "third wave," the clubs of the eighties.

What are Soviet sf fan clubs like? Above all, they are associations of like-minded people who know and appreciate sf. Although the members are of various ages, occupations, and tastes, each can find here what his soul desires.

One of the principal tasks of the fan club is the propagation of the best examples of sf. The members of the club prepare lectures and arrange quizzes, holding their sessions at the enterprises and establishments of their city. One of the results of this kind of activity is the inflow of new members.

The work carried on in the club is subdivided into sections. For instance, the literary-artistic section incorporates people who write and paint in sf manner. The members of this section arrange exhibitions of sf pictures, prepare club news for the newspapers, and publish literary anthologies. According to the legislation now in force in the Soviet Union, the right to publish is monopolized by the State. This accounts for the absence of fanzines. The lack of these is more or less compensated by the club's materials published in local, regional, and national newspapers. Some fan clubs issue literary anthologies containing writings and drawings by the club's members, but these anthologies - in manuscript editions of only 4 to 8 copies - are more designed to meet the specific needs of the club.

One of the main tasks of the literary-artistic section is to find and help new talents and to recommend the better works for publication. The members who know foreign languages are engaged in translation of the best specimens of world sf. As for the artistic side, it is curious to note that the permanent exhibition held under the auspices of the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League entitled "Time-Space-Man" consists for the most part of pictures by amateur artists, many of whom - though not members of sf fan clubs - maintain constant contact with them.

The majority of clubs have bibliography sections. The quality of the bibliograpies they prepare is sometimes so good that these are printed in sf collections and specialized magazines, and serve as reference tools for sf authors and critics.

The archives section stores all the materials related to the club's activities. It usually incorporates the club's library, composed mainly of gifts by members. This section also keeps the minutes of the meetings -and if one puts one's heart into the job, as is the case with the Rostov "Attraction" club, then these records make no less fascinating reading that science fiction itself.

Juvenile sections are operating in most major fan clubs in this country. Concern about the rising generation and how the young employ their leisure time is a distinguishing feature of club activities in the eighties.

The contacts section existing in all the clubs is responsible for communication between the clubs. It may be confidently asserted that 90% of all the news from the sf scene available to any particular club can be traced to these sections. Exchange of literary productions, the latest sf books, interesting lectures and bibliographies, and other materials is made possible through their efforts. This section is particularly important now, compared to the days of the "first wave." In the clubs established after the sixties, the fans began propagating the best specimens of sf among the public at large through press, radio, and tv. The clubs were disinclined to confine their activities to any particular city or area. They persistently tried to play the field, looking for fellow fans in all the corners of this country and abroad, contacting sf writers, translators, and critics. In each club there were leaders who knew more about sf than anyone else, and it was these men who strove to reach out to comrades-in arms.

The links established by correspondence led to a desire to meet in person. The first major undertaking of sf fan clubs was a seminar in Perm in October 1981, organized by the "Rifey" club. It was attended by representatives from Moscow, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, Rostov, Khabarovsk, Kaliningrad, and Nefteyugansk.

The annual award of the Aelita prize, given to the authors of the top bestsellers in the sf field, by the USSR Writers' Union and The Ural Stalker magazine, is another occasion for fans to get together. (See below for a report on the latest gathering.) The event is noted for its tumultuous proceedings. An abundance of new acquaintances and continuation of old friendships, a cataract of information and avalanche of questions and answers, the collision of contradictory opinions and the impact of new impressions -all this is hard to take. Needless to say, real deeds do not always crown the long-winded discussions, and a consensus sometimes seems more distant than the most remote star, but informal contacts between clubs have given rise to quite a number of mutual undertakings, such as the effort to publish the complete bibliography of sf and critical materials, and the all-club "Great Ring" award.

Certainly the vast dimensions of the Soviet Union and the ever increasing number of fan clubs impede the adoption of a unanimous stand in matters of controversy, and difficulties remain in coordinating the activities of various clubs. Be that as it may, all the Soviet sf fan clubs are distinguished by their earnest wish to identify themselves with the ideals of this country. They spare no effort in helping their members to develop the communist world outlook, to master the ideological heritage of Marxist-Leninist classics, to put into practice the most challenging ideas of sf, to harmoniously develop all their capacities. The sf fan clubs in the USSR openly declare the commitment of the sf which they propagate to the cause of peace, belief in the bright future of mankind, and cooperation with all people of good will on our planet.

- Boris Bagalvakz