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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 (Svetlana Satchkova) е авторка, която е преживяла прехода на своята родина от културна свобода към авторитаризъм.
Svetlana Satchkova’s “The Undead” contemplates artistic responsibility, state censorship, and the risks of being an artist in Russia.
In this novel, a young film-maker navigates the consequences of making art in modern Russia.
Svetlana Satchkova’s English-language debut explores an uncomfortable reality in which opportunities for rebellion are slim.
Q: What inspired you to write The Undead, and how did you create your character Maya?
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.
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.
In this interview, author Svetlana Satchkova discusses moving to the U.S. from Russia, her writing becoming political, and her new novel, The Undead.
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.
An exquisite balance between contentment and foreboding, tranquility and chaos, characterizes Satchkova’s new novel, “The Undead,” out on January 13.
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.
Our recommended books for January 2026 include novels of the afterlife, musicians' biographies and an exploration of addiction.
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.