First Edition of Completed Works of Strugatsky Brothers Ready for Publication

The first completed works edition of famous Soviet science fiction writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky has been prepared by specialist researchers. The compilation work, undertaken by literary historians, science fiction lovers and other fans of the Strugatsky brothers, took more than ten years to complete, reports TASS. Not only Russians but also Ukrainians and Americans have taken part in the project. 

The team has been headed by Svetlana Bondarenko, four-time winner of the Strugatsky prize for science-fiction writing. Bondarenko lives in Donetsk, where the archives of the Strugatsky brothers were kept for many years until the beginning of the current conflict in the Southeast of Ukraine, after which the decision was taken to move them to Russia for safe-keeping. As reported by the information service of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, the operation to remove the archives was undertaken in strict secrecy, and completed successfully. Now the archive materials are being held in St Petersburg.

According to Svetlana Bondarenko, the collected works, which will be made up not only of literary works but also of correspondence and diaries, will be published in 30 tomes. "In a break with the usual tradition for completed works editions, the collection will be organised not thematically but chronologically. Each tome covers one or two years, and features the published literary works of the period together with notes and letters written by the authors at the time", said Bondarenko.