Опубликовано в журнале Дружба Народов, номер 11, 2012
Russia — Germany: the New Identification.
This issue is dedicated to the Year of Germany in Russia.
Practically the whole world history of the XX century was determined by the complicated and contradictory relationships between two our countries. As a result not only the world was being changed but the self-consciousness of Russians and Germans as well. We were interested first of all in the processes which were taking place in the end of the XX — beginning of the XXI centuries and connected with the Reunification of Germany, its role in the Eurounion — and the disintegration of the USSR and attempts to create a new association of the states at the post-Soviet territory. Among the authors of this issue there are politologists, sociologists, philosophers, culturologists and surely prosaists and poets from both our countries.
German poetry of the second half of the XX century is presented by Paul Celan, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Benedict Dirlich, Klaus Merz and others.
In the section of prose we chose to present some authors from Germany and Russia either still little known or unknown to the general public, but undoubtedly interesting. The novel “Ira, or The Paradise” by THOMAS WIEDLING is still being prepared for publishing in Germany. Russian authors DMITRIJ SUCHKOV and RAVSHAN SALLETDIN belong to different generations and realize the German theme differently.
The long short story in 9 monologues “Ghostly Voices” by FERIDUN ZAIMOGLU and GUNTER SENKEL depicts the life of migrants from different countries in Germany.
The German publicist KAI ELERS and Russian writer ALEXANDER MELIKHOV discuss the book by Thilo Sarrazin “Germany. Selfliquidation” which caused a sensation in Germany.
MIKHAIL RUMER-ZARAEV in his essay depicts the experience of adoption of the German mentality by our ex-compatriots migrated to Germany.
Professor of the Moscow State University and privat-docent of the Bonn University GASAN GUSEINOV in his interview to “DN” tries to find the answers to the questions: what and who are forming today’s images of “the other country” for Germans and Russians; what are our “meeting stereotypes” of interperception?