Roman Senchin represents a new generation of Russian writers whose formative years, high school, and the army service were spent under the Soviet regime, while the beginning of his writing career coincided with the collapse of the USSR. There are two features in particular which distinguish Senchin’s work from that of his contemporary writers: a Siberian background, and a consistent use of
chernukhaor “black realism”. The term originates from the Stalin-period prohibition to
ocherniat’, “to slander” (literally “to blacken”) Soviet life.
Chernukhais characterized by an unsentimental exploration of the most repellent aspects of Russian life—alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, gratuitous violence, rape, bleak drudgery of work and family life, and characters defined…
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Citation: Pavlenko, Alexei. "Roman Senchin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 September 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12553, accessed 21 November 2024.]