Le charme de Potemkine: deux regards français sur la Russie de Poutine, entre fiction et non-fiction

In the continuity of a long-standing interest for Russia by French writers, the beginning of the 21st century has seen several authors take a personal view of contemporary Russia. The question has nevertheless assumed a different turn in recent years, as Vladimir Putin’s regime has hardened and shown itself to be aggressive towards Ukraine as well as the Western world. It’s interesting to observe how France’s literary view of Russia has undergone major changes, involving both contortions and sudden awakenings, as well as analyses that draw on a French literary tradition that has been grounded in deciphering the corridors of power since the Grand Siècle. At a time when the literature of the extreme contemporary is complicating the distinction between the genres of fiction and non-fiction, or between the novel and the essay, it’s no wonder that a subject as political as fascinating offers the ultimate opportunity to participate in their blurring and hybridation. Two French-speaking writers offer an interesting point of observation: Emmanuel Carrère, author of Un roman russe and Limonov, and Giuliano da Empoli, author of Le mage du Kremlin, written in French and awarded the Grand Prix de l’Académie française. If such a comparison allows us to confront the strategies of fiction and non-fiction when confronted with a political object, it also puts into perspective the generic purity of the two categories.