Ethnic identity as an "enemy" marker in modern Russian crime fiction

The author describes the transformations of word meanings defining the «post-Soviet» reality and actors involved in the most popular sector of contemporary Russian mass literature. Mass literature is considered an area fixing social stereotypes or frames. This suggestion is supported by the orientation of mass literature to meet readers» expectancies, which means that best-selling authors fix ideas of the target audience of their social media. The «post-Soviet» Russia is represented by the key words: «chaos», «war of all against all», «violence», «useless law», «unstable» that serve to fix and organize the frame of the «post-Soviet» reality. Meanwhile, there is no «post-Soviet» reality proper that exists only as a territory of social crisis limited by «sweet» memories of the «happy Soviet past» on the one side and «the West» on the other. The area of external aggression becomes a factor that determines the fate of the characters in best-selling books. In this respect, violence is regarded a single source of surviving in «chaos», which justifies use of any «extraordinary» activities. The meaning of «key words» framing the «post-Soviet» area changes throughout the period described: most recent books introduce the war frontier separating the «actors» into «natives» and «aliens» involved into the «war of all against all». In so doing, the «aliens» are defined by «ethnic» identities with obvious negative connotations. The appearance of «enemies» is used as an argument in favour of making violence, a major resource of the «post-Soviet» area, an ambient reality of the new actor defined by a «key word» - «state». The latter changes its meaning: the «state» was «week», «destructed» or even did not exist at all before and then it became the only controlling agent and resource distributor, the principal power of which was confirmed in earliest and latest contributions. The «state» is described from one more respect now: law enforcement, the agents of which serve its interests. Earlier law enforcement was not connected with «state», even more, sometimes they were bluntly opposed to each other. The «enemies» became personalized as well: the «blacks», «beasts», «Americans» and «terrorists» try to make chaos on the territory controlled by the «state» (actually, by law enforcement agents). Categories of «good» and «evil» are introduced into best-selling books alongside with the ethnically marked «enemies», the «evil» being represented either by the actor in the opposition to the «state» or the competitor for the power monopoly.

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