[Eric]

Sergey, what is the etymological route of the Pind- part of Pindostan referring to the USA?

As for "Stalker" being depressing, well it was, although it was a masterpiece. (So I agree with the other Russians, though I've never seen the story "Picnic at the Roadside" by the Strugatsky Brothers.) You can blame the Estonians for its depressing character: it was filmed in Tallinn. They supplied a free actor, too: Jüri Järvet.

Personally, I've heard enough about the GULag, Lenin & Stalin, etc., for a while, and am eager to find Russian authors that express dimensions of contemporary Russian life that don't involve alcoholism on suburban train journeys, or people chopping one another into pieces, however satirically meant. The problem, however, with such a novel as "Moskva-Petushki" is that the Western reader will surely only read the surface story in translation. All the subtle language usage, jokes about Soviet jargon and life, etc., will be lost in translation.

Does no one write non-postmodernist contemporary novels about the Russia of today?