To let the red rooster loose and catch a goldfish is just a small part of what the oprichnik, the hope and support of the Russian state, must accomplish in a day. Word and deed are

his motto, loyalty to authority is his principle, doublethink is his morality, violence is his instrument. Vladimir Sorokin's story 'Day of the Oprichnik' is both a farcical spectacle,

capable of making you laugh out loud, and a disappointing prediction. The oprichnik feels at home in Sorokin's Moscow of the near future—because he is irreplaceable.

'Day of the Oprichnik,' first published in 2006, has been translated into twenty languages. In 2013, the story was shortlisted for the Booker International Prize.

Authors: Vladimir Sorokin