S.N.U.F.F.

The plot's setting is a post-apocalyptic world where the majority of people live either in a poor, technologically backwards Urkaina [sic] (not to be confused with the present Ukraine, though the pun is likely intended) with about 300 million Russian speaking inhabitants with a capital city "Slava" or in a technologically advanced artificial flying city "Big Byz" (or "Byzantium") which is locked in the sky above Urkaina and has a population of about 30 million, where English is used only as a Church language, Russian is used for regular communication.

The book invents a set of neologisms (mainly using English even in the Russian original) such as discourse monger - a provoker paid by Big Byz media and military who under disguise of defending human rights against Urkainian dictatorship (which is in fact covertly controlled by Big Byz), provokes a conflict, which usually leads to regularly repeated "wars" - organized slaughter and bombing campaigns by Big Byz's fused military and media against virtually weaponless Urkaine's people. Such "wars", thoroughly filmed and used for entertainment, are organized nearly every year, the perpetrators from the Big Byz side being porn stars wearing suits of Batman or Ninja Turtles rather than soldiers, and protected by flying drones from any damage. The resulting footage is called "S.N.U.F.F.", an acronym from "Special Newsreel/Universal Feature Film", and sold both in Big Byz and in Urkaina.

The story is narrated from the person of one Damilola Karpov, a pilot of a remotely controlled drone which is equipped with both a camera and multiple weapons including guns and bombs. He works for both the military and media and his usual work in peacetime is to broadcast poverty, brutality and chaos from Urkaina to confirm the barbaric and totalitarian nature of this people, called "Orcs" in the slang of Big Byz, and their authorities. In other cases he protects discourse mongers with the guns of his drone so that they can denigrate and provoke Urkainian officials safely.

Another invented term is smart free speech, a term used to denote intelligent following (or even predicting) of current political trends by Big Byz media employees in order to earn good money and avoid being ostracized.

The people of Big Byz are not living in paradise either. It turns out that a popular custom among Big Byz elite and pilots is to use robotic women as sexual partners. Sex and pornography with persons under 46 is prohibited due to age of consent, and according to the narrative it is planned to increase it up to 48 due to a lobby of aging porn stars and feminists. Still, having sex with people under 46 isn't a big problem due to the hypocritical rule don't look, don't see; only doing (as well as watching) it in public is punished.

The naturally-decreasing population of Big Byz is usually replenished with immigrants from Urkaine and by child-buyers who go to poor Urkainian villages to buy babies. The rich immigrants from "Urkaine" to Big Byz usually live in a virtual "London" which is nothing more than a 3D picture of London (a parallel with Russian oligarchs) landscape that can be installed in any apartment for good money and is considered most prestigious (while there are other landscapes that can be installed for free).

As the story progresses, Damilola's sex toy elopes with a young orc named Grym, and he loses his drone in pursuit. His personal doom is accompanied by an impending global disaster, as the people of Urkaina sabotage the ground facilities of Big Byz.

The book was translated into English by Andrew Bromfield.[1]

• Masha Boston. CHURCH-AMERICAN IN VIKTOR PELEVIN’S SNUFF // Transcultural Studies, 6-7 (2010-2011), 141-155.