Contemporary Russian Literature

[Valentina Zaitseva]

  >It seems to me that a problem with classifying writers by ethnicity is
>:what do you do with the Jews? After all, that's what the nationalists are
>doing, isn't it, saying that such and such is not a "russkij" writer
>because he/she has a Jewish ancestor?. Of course, there is now the word
>"rossijskij" to take care of that, but for us, with only the word
>"Russian," it would be a crime to amputate, say, Mandelstam, from "Russian
>literature." Emily Tall

-Very true! Ethnical classification would also exclude such Russian writers
and poets as Bulat Okudzhava, Fasil' Iskander, Chingiz Aitmatov, Bakhyt
Kenzheev -- and many others.
Vlentina Zaitseva