Pelevin's Identity Loss

Identity Loss in Pelevin's Novel "Generation P" and "Empire V"

When Russia transitioned from the soviet system of the USSR to the capitalistic system of today's economy, it underwent significant shifts in both societal structure and culture. The societal structure shifted to a more open framework of a financial ladder compared to the USSR's political hierarchy; the cultural ideology changed from a soviet socio-focused culture to a western individualistic mentality. The abrasive nature of this transition stems from its rapidity, and the turbulence of the 1990's represents a time which challenged Russia as a nation and as a society.

Victor Pelevin captures this transitionary period in his novels "Empire V" and "Generation P" in which the main

Throughout the novel, Tatarsky progresses up the corporate and financial ladder of the media advertisement industry, finally finding himself at the top where his job is to hold the system he climbed in place without an understanding of the underlying mechanism of his power. Through viewing this simplified synopsis of the text, it is evident that Pelevin set Tatarsky up to be representative of the 1990's youth through his identity loss at the beginning of the plot. Moreover, once Tatarsky reaches the top of the new system, he feels lost since even though his new identity is firmly established as the leader of media in Russia, his primary idea of self as a poet pervades his cognitive framework and makes this new identity seem fake. Therefore, the recurring motif of the ziggurat, the use hallucinogenic mushrooms, and the help from surrealistic sources like Che Guevara all support the notion that his rise did not come from his autonomy, and that he does not have control over his new identity. The system dictates what role he will place in the system rather than his idea of self-finding a role in the system that fits