II. “We” by Evgeniy Zamyatin

Yevgeny Zamyatin deservedly considered to be a founder of dystopia. Natalie Smith was writing that “in Zamyatin's case utopian ideas relate to mathematical rationality which expresses his ideal of human mental function and of the appropriate density of the human race.” (2003, p. 317) His book “We” is the first dystopia book however, it is possible that Zamyatin was not the first author of the genre(Stenbock-Fermor, 1973, p.187). The novel was written in the early days of the Soviet Union. Its publication abroad is dated to 1920. However, in Russia(author's homeland) this book was published in 1988, a few years before the collapse of the USSR(Futrell, 1959, p. 279)

It is not difficult to understand why the novel was not published in the Soviet Union. Zamyatin's novel was an example of Westernization of Russian literature (Carden, 1987, p.1). Then, in Soviet Russia the novel was not published, as literary critics perceived it as a cruel caricature of socialist and communist society of the future. In addition, the novel contains allusions to some of the events of the Civil War. Even the popularity of the genre of satire in the USSR did not save the novel from long-term ban(Milton, 1991, p. 601).

This novel describes a totalitarian society (“The One State”) of rigid control over the individual, where the names are replaced by letters and numbers, the state controls even intimate life. The One State's social model ideologically based on the worship of science and denial of fantasy, driven by mysterious "Benefactor". Despite the presence of a formal elections Benefactor wins cycle after cycle, since no one dares to challenge his candidacy. The main hero of the book is an engineer named D-503, a typical cell of the system, which through a series of events loses his confidence in the firmness of the One State and joins the freedom fighters, but to no avail.

The Society described by Zamyatin is similar to the period of time when Stalin came to power. Abundant imposition of cult of personality, depersonalization of the population, as well as massive state monopoly on printed materials and manufacturing. This similarity is actively decorated by "mathematical environment”(White, 1966, p. 73). Even Stalin's re-election to the post of general secretary of the Soviet Union after World War II refers to the elections with no opposition in the One State. It is clear that certain details of Soviet policy could not be known to Zamyatin at the time of writing "We".

Another surprising prediction is the construction of "The Integral" described in the book. The Integral is a spaceship designed by the protagonist. The purpose of this spaceship is the search for new worlds, to disseminate the message about the power of the One State. Flights beyond the earth were described and predicted by numerous writers, e.g. famous science fiction writer Jules Verne(From the Earth to the Moon, 1865), however, Zamyatin was the first writer explained the creation of a spacecraft by the state's desire to disperse its influence. It is interesting, that the launch of a manned space device by the Soviet Union in 1961 has been committed in order to expand Soviet influence in the race of ideologies, which was happening simultaneously with the arms race during the Cold War.

A ban on alcohol and tobacco described in the book found its embodiment in numerous totalitarian cultures of the 20th century. In particular, the anti-smoking campaign in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, or the prohibition of alcohol in the USSR of 80s. The ban on any cultural content from abroad, which took its place in the Soviet Union during the Cold War was predicted by Zamyatin: solely music and art approved by the state was allowed.

Yevgeny Zamyatin was a staunch socialist. His socialist views affected the plot of the book(Barthel, 1988, p. 674). However, he was actively critisizing the actions of the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution and early years of the Soviet Union. Perhaps, this is Zamyatin's political position that allowed him to make these accurate predictions about certain aspects of the totalitarian states of the 20th century.

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