Svetlana Satchkova

Moscow has been seized by ghouls

Inspired in part by the 2023 prosecution of theatre director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, The Undead tells the story of a Russian film director in the late 2010s who prefers to stay out of politics — until the Kremlin decides to make an example out of her. Satchkova spoke to Novaya Gazeta Europe about the book’s themes, where her ideas came from, and what it was like returning to an earlier chapter in Russia’s recent history. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

‘It’s Completely Different’: Two Writers On Russian Authoritarianism and Why the U.S. Isn’t There Yet

Russian writer Svetlana Satchkova recognizes that there are undeniable similarities between the political climate in her home country and the United States: escalating attacks on public institutions, growing polarization, and the treatment of political opponents as enemies of the state, to name a few. But from her perspective, there are also essential differences that Americans may overlook.

A Psychological Thriller with a Touch of Mythology: An Excerpt from Svetlana Satchkova's The Undead

Svetlana Satchkova's English-language debut, The Undead: A Novel of Modern Russia, was published earlier this year by Melville House Publishing to rave reviews. It's a story of an aspiring Moscow filmmaker, Maya Kotova, who makes an arthouse horror movie as a commentary on the fragility of human nature, and then finds herself arrested and prosecuted because her movie is deemed a threat to the Russian government.

«Неживые» — роман Светланы Сачковой о российской режиссерке, которую судят за фильм про Ленина-зомби

В 2026 году в американском издательстве Melville House вышел роман журналистки и писательницы Светланы Сачковой «Неживые. Роман о современной России» (The Undead: A Novel of Modern Russia).

Book Review

Svetlana Satchkova has dedicated her book to Russian political prisoners, and particularly to one prisoner—the late politician and anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny, whose heroic and tragic life story sets a very high bar for personal courage.

Svetlana Satchkova: Speak Up, America!

The Undead is a layered and sharply observant portrait of an artist caught in the machinery of state power, and the choices one faces in a system where even indifference can be dangerous.

A Conversation with Svetlana Satchkova

Will McDonald spoke with Svetlana over Zoom, discussing her process of writing a novel in a non-native language, and how Maya’s story parallels her own and so many other artists living in constant fear of government repression.

Lives of the Non-Saints: Adventures in dystopia with Svetlana Satchkova's The Undead

Dystopias are lands without innocents. A suspended sentence hangs in Damoclean splendor over everyone, provoking the kind of purposefully anodyne behavior that only the terrified or self-convicted can ever truly practice. This is called anticipatory obedience by some, survival by others, and complicity by the self-righteous, the recklessly brave, and the stone-throwing outsider. These are easy categories from which to recruit a Winston Smith (Orwell’s 1984), a D-503 (Zamyatin’s We) or a Katniss Everdeen (do I have to speak its name?). What you’re far more unlikely to find in the ranks of glorious dystopian heroes and antiheroes is a Maya Kotova.

In The Undead, a filmmaker gets caught in the Kremlin's dark games

It's been two weeks since I finished reading Svetlana Satchkova's The Undead, and the novel continues to haunt me. Not just because of its supernatural element—though the supernatural sits at its core in the form of a horror film about Lenin, the dead Soviet leader, coming back to life to lead an army of ghouls—but because the pages capture the terrifying reality of living in an increasingly totalitarian state.

Book Review: The Undead by Svetlana Satchkova

This is a really tough review for me to write. Not because The Undead is a bad book: it's actually something I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction. It just feels so deeply cautionary about not only Vladimir Putin's Russia but about the United States of America that we currently live in, so much so that I'm fending off panic attacks while I write this (and if you’re reading this: don't worry, I'm fine now, just appropriately anxious as a result of Svetlana Satchkova's excellent writing.)

Interviews: Svetlana Satchkova

I first met Svetlana Satchkova in the place where I met most of my fellow USSR-born authors—online! We started chatting about the new novel she was working on—the book that became The Undead [Melville House 2026], a novel about a debut filmmaker in Putin's Russia who starts making a zombie film who finds herself at the center of scandal when the government puts her on trial because they believe it was a critique of the current regime.

The Absurdity of Authoritarianism: A Conversation With Svetlana Satchkova

When Svetlana Satchkova set out to write The Undead, her novel about a young filmmaker targeted by the Russian state, she had to make negotiations between truth and fiction because the true events she based her story on were almost too absurd.

Zombie Leninism

In 2016, Svetlana Satchkova left Moscow for the United States because she was concerned about her son’s and her own safety under Vladimir Putin’s rule. Especially following Putin’s power grab in Crimea, she felt she could no longer tolerate the country’s authoritarianism and corruption. Now a Russian-American arts journalist, Satchkova is also a research fellow at the Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia at New York University. The Undead is her fourth novel and the first written in English. It weaves fiction with aspects of Satchkova’s life in Russia as well as recent political events.

Reviews

The Undead begins as the story of a youngish woman named Maya trying to make it as a filmmaker in Moscow. It’s similar at first to recent U.S. artistic coming-of-age stories like Chelsea Martin‘s novel Tell Me I’m an Artist or Kelly Reichardt‘s film Showing Up, as Maya wrestles with personal ambitions, relationships with friends and family, and the inevitable struggles and compromises of collaborative creation.

Review: The Undead by Svetlana Satchkova

The Undead is a compelling and timely story, both very Russian and all too universal. Often Satchkova tells rather than shows, which can make the narrative a bit dry and hurried, keeping readers at an emotional distance. Overall, though, this novel takes some dark themes and casts them into a bright light, offering much to consider about art, freedom, propaganda and responsibility.

The Undead by Svetlana Satchkova

Pile by the Bed reviews The Undead by Svetlana Satchkova set in Russia and revolving around the life of a filmmaker it is part farce, part political commentary, part reflection on the life of an artist in an authoritarian regime and then part Kafka.

Светлана Сачкова: Живот под цензурата на Путинова Русия

Светлана Сачкова (Svetlana Satchkova) е авторка, която е преживяла прехода на своята родина от културна свобода към авторитаризъм.

Art Is Always Political in an Authoritarian State

Svetlana Satchkova’s “The Undead” contemplates artistic responsibility, state censorship, and the risks of being an artist in Russia.

Interview with Svetlana Satchkova

In this novel, a young film-maker navigates the consequences of making art in modern Russia.

The Undead: A zombified Lenin wreaks havoc on Moscow; the Russian state wreaks havoc on a film-maker

Svetlana Satchkova’s English-language debut explores an uncomfortable reality in which opportunities for rebellion are slim.

Q&A with Svetlana Satchkova

Q: What inspired you to write The Undead, and how did you create your character Maya?

Interview: January 15, 2026

In this interview conducted by former publicity executive Michael Barson, Svetlana Satchkova talks about her decision to write the novel in English and the impact it has had on her approach to fiction; explains the differences between life in Moscow and New York; and names the three authors who she believes have done the most effective job of writing stories that accurately depict the state of life in Russia.

Ondoden: de Russische culturele wereld leeft zijn eigen horrorfilm

Kun je in Rusland als filmmaker nog gewoon je werk doen, zonder je met politiek te bemoeien? De jonge filmmaker Maya dacht van wel, maar werkte zich voordat ze het doorhad in de nesten. In haar Engelstalige debuutroman The Undead laat de Russische schrijver en journalist Svetlana Satchkova zien hoe Russische kunstenaars verstrikt raken in een angstaanjagend systeem waarin apolitiek zijn geen optie is. Alsu Buiting, docent Russische taalverwerving aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, bespreekt het boek.

Svetlana Satchkova: On Resisting Injustice

In this interview, author Svetlana Satchkova discusses moving to the U.S. from Russia, her writing becoming political, and her new novel, The Undead.

Undead in Putin’s Russia

The Undead is a novel about filmmaking: the conflicting angles of vision, the budget, the egos of stars. It’s also a novel about filmmaking in an authoritarian nation.

In a Russian Expat’s First English-Language Novel, Making Art Under Putin Is a Horror Show

An exquisite balance between contentment and foreboding, tranquility and chaos, characterizes Satchkova’s new novel, “The Undead,” out on January 13.

12 Must-Read Books of January 2026

The New Year is the perfect time to set your sights high for your reading goal. And what better place to start than with some exciting early 2026 releases?

We’re wasting no time this year, because January is full of book releases you won’t want to miss. From the return of an American literary icon like George Saunders to a number of can’t-miss works in translation, you’ll find plenty of books to get your 2026 started on the right foot.

The 11 Books You Should Be Reading This January

Our recommended books for January 2026 include novels of the afterlife, musicians' biographies and an exploration of addiction.

The Undead

The English-language debut by Russian-born author Satchkova, who now lives in the U.S., chillingly examines the Russian government’s stranglehold on the arts and media industries.