Russian "world-class" Literature: Russian Detective Novels since the 1990s

In the 1990s the book market and the production and reception of literature in Russia radically changed, conforming to Western patterns. This transformation is mostly – and even from the side of scholars – estimated as an emancipatory development. But unlike vanguard postmodern literature, which considers and ironically reverses clichés and stereotypes, mass fiction provides unambiguous elements to identify with (positively or negatively). The paper focuses on Russian detective novels since the 1990s – exemplarily on the basis of a novel by Aleksandra Marinina – to show how Russian stereotypes are preserved in universal patterns of character and plot and how the reception against the background of Russian as well as of Western society is made possible.