Hero of the future of Russia: the choice of contemporaties – Progressor, Demiurg or Superman?

The article presents an analysis of the data of the All-Russian online survey conducted in 2024 among readers and non-readers of science fiction (n=1244). The aim of the study was to identify readers’ preferences for science fiction and, as a result, what is in the reader’s “visibility zone” today, and what in this sense can guide him in terms of the formation of consciousness. In part, this is an attempt to discern the “sociotechnical imaginary” in the support of which literature participates. This paper considers one of the aspects of the study related to the phenomenon of the hero and heroism. In this sense, science fiction literature, as a fusion of the imaginary and the real, allows us to identify deep, often unconscious, habitual and therefore unspoken meanings. The study is multimethod, using quantitative and qualitative methodologies: a mass online survey and a method of deep immersion in the environment – included observation were used. In the latter case, this is communication with professional science fiction writers, participation in meetings (conventions), correspondence with leading authors of both online science fiction literature and masters from the group of all-Russian famous writers, registration and active work on fandom sites. The work analyzes in detail the data from several open questions, makes a comparative analysis related to which heroes of science fiction respondents call as close to themselves in spirit and way of thinking, and which heroes they consider necessary for modern Russia. As a result, we come to the following result: close are the heroes described in modern science fiction literature by contemporary writers, with all the ensuing features of character, action, and the heroes necessary for Russia, according to the respondents, are those who are presented in the science fiction of the Soviet past. At the same time, there is a need for a hero-progressor, who is not devoid of ethical principles, but acts and transforms reality carefully, without taking risks, often unable to withstand the onslaught of the “imperfect” environment and involuntarily changing his principles after it.

science fiction, hero type, hero-progressor, demiurge, superman, ITR discourse, “sociotechnical imaginary”, convergent culture