ABSTRACT

This chapter analyses contemporary sources that feature duels, focusing mainly on the world of Dmitry Glukhovsky. Glukhovsky brings the concept into a new age (and genre) in his Metro series (Glukhovsky, Metro 2033, 2002). Certain fights in Glukhovsky’s works can be defined as duels based on the centrality of these elaborate, ritualistic fights and their characterisation as affairs of ‘honour’ (Reyfman, Ritualized Violence Russian Style, 1999). Men are expected to adhere to standards of masculinity, remaining steadfastly dedicated to their branch of the Metro whatever the cost: the bonds in these branches are such that the men consider each other to be a family, so, in some sense, family honour and Metro branch honour are interchangeable. Duels in the Metro series remind the reader what Russia used to be and how it stands in contrast to Russia now. In the video games, the duels of the boss battles propel the plot onwards, and impact the player’s moral standing within the game. The boss battle duels also connect to the highly gendered nature of duels in Russia; both duelling and hardcore gaming/technology are intertwined with masculinity, and both reject women encroaching upon ‘their’ space.