Russian officials draft ‘professional standards’ for writers that could ease labor relations (unless they’re imposed on publishers)

Russia’s Labor Ministry has drafted plans to establish professional standards for writers, outlining the job’s formal “functions,” which include duties like “developing the concept of an original literary work,” writing the main text, editing and revising, and preparing the text for submission to a publisher. The ministry’s draft document offers only guidelines, not requirements, though some of the government’s vision has drawn criticism nevertheless. Meduza breaks down these proposed “professional standards” and examines how they might help some writers.

The Labor Ministry’s draft document says writers should be able to “find interesting topics and develop them," work in various genres, and “utilize the stylistic and lexical richness of their native language.” According to the proposed professional standards, writers should be familiar with the main trends in Russian and foreign literature, the specifics of the modern literary process, the key stages of the evolution of literary-artistic styles, the history of Russia and the world, and the folklore of the peoples of Russia and the world.

More controversially, the Labor Ministry says writers should have a higher education to be considered writers.

The government has also proposed professional standards for literary critics, stipulating that this work demands the use of “various types and forms of detailed analysis of plot lines, the development of characters and the main protagonists,” knowledge of literary theory, history, and contemporary history, mastery of “the artistic and expressive tools of the Russian language,” awareness of “trends in the modern literary process,” and familiarity with “the history and key figures of literary critical thought.”

State Duma deputy Sergey Shargunov, who chairs the Writers' and Publishers' Unions Association of Russia (which helped develop the draft document), wrote in the project’s explanatory note that literary work is becoming a “matter of state importance” that directly impacts society’s “most critical issues.” Shargunov also argued that writers need more “professional prestige” and “effective support for the contemporary literary creative process” as they “emerge as leaders of public opinion” and “play an important role in educating readers.”

The draft document’s explanatory note also addresses criticism that higher education is an “unfeasible” professional standard for writers. According to the project’s sponsors, the proposed standards are not “a specific job description.” Officials acknowledge that the writer’s profession is inherently creative, where talent is paramount and education “isn’t a decisive factor” in either “self-realization” or career success.

A source with ties to the development of the Labor Ministry’s draft professional standards lamented that the document is written in dense bureaucratic language but insisted that the government’s plans won’t restrict writers in any way. The formalized standards will allow more writers to claim state welfare benefits, social security payments, and so on that are already available to “artists” and “performers” thanks to existing Labor Ministry regulations, said Meduza’s source.

On his Telegram channel, Pravila Zhizni magazine book reviewer Maksim Mamlyga explained that the state’s professional standards apply to labor relations formalized through employment contracts. In the literary world, however, most relationships with authors rely not on labor contracts but civil law agreements for licensing, commissioned writing, and service provision. “So, theoretically, if you stretch your imagination, this document could be useful if some government institution or state-owned company decides to hire a writer under an employment contract,” wrote Mamlyga. He said he believes the draft document poses no danger to writers who don’t meet the proposed standards — so long as the government never requires publishers to work exclusively with formally “qualified writers.”

Meanwhile, Sergey Lukyanenko, a science fiction writer who publicly supports the Russian authorities, has mocked the government for trying to “regulate creative activity through bureaucratic methods.” “I understand that any official would love to regulate everything and everyone. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen. Even the Soviet government understood this,” Lukyanenko told the media, adding that he also believes it’s excessive to make higher education a professional standard for writers.

Adapted for Meduza in English by Kevin Rothrock