ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates how translators negotiate the moral, political, and professional dilemmas inherent in bringing contemporary Russian fiction into English. Through interviews and case studies – including Andrew Bromfield's rendering of The Librarian (Mikhail Elizarov) and Marian Schwartz's translation of Maidenhair (Mikhail Shishkin) – it explores how political bias, translatorial hexis, and ethical positioning inform decisions at every stage of the process. Bromfield's approach reflects a strong commitment to fidelity and authorial intent, whereas Schwartz assumes the role of cultural mediator, shaping texts for Anglophone readerships without erasing their Russian specificity. The discussion extends to the strategic choices translators and publishers make when engaging with politically controversial or ethically problematic authors, highlighting how reputational risk differs between living nationalist writers and those whose deaths render their work ostensibly ‘safe’. Ultimately, the chapter argues that translation is never a neutral linguistic exercise but a deeply moral and political negotiation, entangled with questions of ethics, authorship, and cultural responsibility.
