The collapse of the USSR was relatively bloodless. The Chechen Wars were not. A tiny nation on the edge of Russia, Chechnya brought one of the largest armies in the world to its knees. Trauma and Truth examines significant works about these wars by some of Russia’s leading contemporary war authors, including Anna Politkovskaya, Arkady Babchenko, and Zakhar Prilepin. Combining close reading of the texts with descriptions of the authors’ social and political activities and suggestions on how to teach these challenging authors and texts, Trauma and Truth traces the psychological effects of the wars on their participants, and concludes with a discussion of what this means for Russia today.

“The book will appeal to scholars of literature, history, area studies, national

identity, war culture, and anyone interested in understanding Russian,

Chechen, and Post-Soviet society and politics on a deeper level. Clark’s

intention to provide resources for those teaching the Chechen wars addresses

a significant lacuna in the field. The well-written conclusion provides some

broad and provocative takeaways about contemporary Russian culture and

politics that might spark discussion. The monograph contributes beyond Slavic

Studies to trauma and literature studies.”

— Adrienne M. Harris, SEER

“Elena Pedigo Clark’s Trauma and Truth is a welcome contribution to critical pedagogy in Russian literary and cultural studies… Trauma and Truth offers readers both critical insight into the contemporary literature and journalistic writing that emerged from the modern wars in Chechnya, as well as an embedded, carefully crafted model course on literature and the trauma of war. There is a deep symbiosis between these two constituent parts that resist hierarchy: Is it a volume of teaching-informed scholarship, or an example of researched-informed pedagogy? It is both… The volume’s empathetic approach to the “War is Hell” message of all four authors can and should be included in almost any course on contemporary Russian literature and culture designed for the current generation of students.”

— Thomas Jesús Garza, The Russian Review

Elena Pedigo Clark received a BA in International Studies from UNC-Charlotte, an MA in Russian Translation from Columbia University, and a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from UNC-Chapel Hill. She is currently Assistant Professor of Russian at Wake Forest University.