Would a story set in Russia be bad taste right now?

[eaship]

I recently finished the first draft of a story about a week ago (about 6k words) and I was going back through and fleshing it out (on track for about 12k words) before submitting it. I truly think it will be pretty decent when it’s all done.

The problem is that it’s based in and heavily features Russia so I’m not sure if it’s worth finishing with everything going on right now with Russia.

My initial idea for the story was much different but eventually it evolved into something about a general/heir to the Russian throne whose is the target of an assassination attempt by a group of female spies. The action is contained between the general, his associates and the spies so there’s no war or anything like that.

The story uses and relies upon the setting/culture/language heavily to the point that moving the setting would be more than switching names, etc and I think it would suffer in quality because of it.

So do you think a story set in Russia be bad taste right now?

 

[windar]

Since you mention throne, it's presumably set in the czarist era. If readers learn something about Russian history that could actually be positive in the current situation. Know your enemy...

 

[LexxRuthless]

A good story is a good story. Period. It isn't as though you are glorifying Putin or anything that should draw the ire of readers here. Post away!

 

[KeithD]

A good story is a good story. Period. It isn't as though you are glorifying Putin or anything that should draw the ire of readers here. Post away!

I haven't seen backlash from posting stories in similar circumstances.

 

[eaship]

Since you mention throne, it's presumably set in the czarist era. If readers learn something about Russian history that could actually be positive in the current situation. Know your enemy...

It’s set in modern times after a military coup that produces an Tsar/emperor, but yeah my mindset was that it was a revival of czarist rule.

 

[YDB95]

What's the most acclaimed romantic movie of all time? Probably Casablanca, which was all about World War II and made when it was barely half over. A great story is a great story.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Would a story set slightly in the future about China invading the and taking over the US be a bad idea?

No need to answer, I have several of them and in the process of making them a novel length book.

 

[LexxRuthless]

What's the most acclaimed romantic movie of all time? Probably Casablanca, which was all about World War II and made when it was barely half over. A great story is a great story.

Heheh. No pressure, eaship, but we're expecting you to write the next Casablanca.

 

[lovecraft68]

Well back in 2020 people here-and the site-decided it would be great fun to write erotic stories centering around lockdown, quarantine and a pandemic, and during the time it was all at its worse.
So if writing stories about a situation that was frightening and frustrating amid soaring case and death totals was seen as just great, I wouldn't worry about what your story is about.
First because we should always write the story we want
Second, I mentioned the 'love the one you're with' event so some of the Karens here are reminded of it, and might think twice before proving themselves a hypocrite. If you can eroticize and glorify a pandemic, then you have no room to talk about tasteless.

 

[Nylonian]

Heheh. No pressure, eaship, but we're expecting you to write the next Casablanca.

Same here.

 

[8letters]

I published a story on 2/7 about a pre-med major MMC. His roommate is a fellow pre-med major from Ukraine. At one point, the MMC and his roommate are discussing the roommate's parents taking him for a week vacation with his girlfriend Sofia from Ukraine. The roommate says:

“If I marry Sofia, her whole family can move to America. Things are very unstable in Ukraine. No one feels safe. Much better to take what money you can and move to America. If my parents tell me in San Diego that I must marry Sofia, I will marry Sofia. And she will be a good wife.”

So far, no one has commented on this.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'd be less concerned with bad taste than the risk of reader confusion, especially if RL events move further from your story.

My latest story here involved a fictional country based on Ukraine, and in particular on its relationship with Russia. (Though also on Belarus.) Fictionalising in that way means you can lean on RL without being quite so vulnerable to RL events that might conflict with the story.

 

[Fantastic_Raven]

Fiction has always provided a contemporary commentary. The original Star Trek was infamous for that, and one talking point stands out to this day: the first televised interracial kiss.

The problem you might run into is that some people here come here for the porn and hate everything else. But there aren't many outlets for truly adult fiction that explores contemporary issues, either. "Plot" implies "theme", and within the theme you can usually find a message (or "lesson"). So you might get some blowback (be prepared for it just in case). But imo as long as you aren't spouting pro-Putin propaganda as your message most will accept your work and rate it on its true merits.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Why not? Russians and Ukrainians have sex like everyone else. Possibly with more vodka involved? My grandpa never gave any detail.

Anything that reminds people who might need it that Russians are people too is probably a good thing. My grandpa was ashamed his entire life that he was ethnically Russian.

 

[BarracudaSwordfish]

I wrote a two part series recently that had Danni, a Ukrainian girl as one of the co-stars. She is one of my favorite characters I have created but if I were to be putting up those stories at the moment, I would probably make her Polish or Hungarian just out of respect.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I'd say Go. It's not politics or a polemic against the Ukraine, so Go and good luck!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

That reminds me, I have one that starts in Russia but ends in America and other places around the globe, but I lost interest in it. It's about a young lady that was brought up as a child in an ultra secret spy school who then leaves without permission and goes to America as a Spy For Hire. I guess she learned the part about capitalism pretty good.

If anyone would like to finish it I'll send what I go to you. I hadn't planned on it having any sex in it but I can see there could be a lot as she wasn't taught that sex was bad, in fact you could rewrite it so that sex was one of the tools she could use to get information she wanted.

 

[windar]

That reminds me, I have one that starts in Russia but ends in America and other places around the globe, but I lost interest in it. It's about a young lady that was brought up as a child in an ultra secret spy school who then leaves without permission and goes to America as a Spy For Hire. I guess she learned the part about capitalism pretty good.

If anyone would like to finish it I'll send what I go to you. I hadn't planned on it having any sex in it but I can see there could be a lot as she wasn't taught that sex was bad, in fact you could rewrite it so that sex was one of the tools she could use to get information she wanted.

There's a $1 million reward if she can arrest Putin and bring him for a war crimes trial. That would be an interesting plot device https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-businessman-puts-1-million-bounty-on-putins-head-2022-3

 

[mythtrav16]

I say go for it. Sure, you might offend some people, but these days, it's impossible to say or write anything without offending somebody. And odds are, anybody you do offend will have no personal connection to Ukraine themselves, they'll just be virtue signalling do-gooders who believe they have a duty to get offended on the Ukrainians' behalf.

There have been scores of stories, movies, etc. set in real-life places in turmoil during our lifetimes. A story written in 2022, set in Russia would not be pushing any new boundaries.

 

[JuanaSalsa]

I just submitted a 9k word non-erotic story that takes from Feb 24, 2022 to Mar 2, 2022 and is set (mostly) in Kharkiv, Ukraine, titled "War Really Sucks."

It follows the story of a young Russian man attending school in America who decides to go to Kharkiv with the idea of rescuing his Ukrainian fiancee who is there when Russia invades. I tried to capture the complex emotions of trying to find loved ones in a dangerous, constantly changing, situation with no phone or internet. People caught up in events larger than themselves: uncertainty, fear, misunderstanding, death, and love. I hope I did justice to the subject.

I plan to put links to organizations that support war victims on my profile page once it's published.

I know that really isn't the Lit purpose, but it works better here than the other place I write. Also, there is a non-erotic category, so...


Edit: In case anyone is wondering, after pending for over a week the story was sent back with a note that stories related to current political events are not allowed. Not sure what to do with it now...