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Heroism In Victor Pelevin's Omon Ra

1006 Words5 Pages

Cult and Cultivation of Heroism
The Soviet Space Program created true heroes for the Soviet Union. The cosmonauts became icons of Soviet nationalism, as representations of the limits of human and, perhaps more importantly, communist endeavor. They were the first to send satellites and life into space and orbit, in both animal and human tests, which provided quantitative proof of Soviet success over Americans. Soviet propaganda often illustrated “firsts” of the Soviet Space Program, crediting them to the communist power of the Soviet Union. However, even this successful program was shrouded in secrecy in order to hide its weaknesses. Only success was published, after the fact, to hint at greater successes in the future. Victor Pelevin’s Omon Ra darkly satirizes this brand of Soviet …show more content…

The Soviet Union excelled at deception. After the Chernobyl nuclear accident, Gorbachev concealed the true range and devastation of the event. Stalin’s government hid the details on the post-World War II famine from 1946 to 1947. This theme of deception from the government, its propaganda, aimed to further the glory of the Soviet Union, and thus increase nationalism. Omon Ra’s Soviet officials deceive in order to support what they believe to be the truth of Communism’s greatness. The Flight Leader tells Omon that “the paradox … is that we support the truth with falsehood, because Marxism carries within itself an all-conquering truth, and the goal for which you will give your life is, in a formal sense, a deception” (42). Reality is based on the facts inputted: the government then aims to control that input and therefore, the reality. As the Bear, itself a symbol of Russia, in Omon’s dream says, “I and this entire world are nothing but a thought someone is thinking” (107). The controlled media, the fake cause, the quest for Soviet glory: these are all just as real as Pelevin’s fictional

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