This paper explores the combination of realism tradition and fantasy elements in Russian literature, pointing out that traditional research neglects the artistic techniques and aesthetic schemes of writers in expressing social reality. By analyzing Alexei Salinikov's' Petrov Flu ', it reveals how fantasy elements reveal the historical driving force of social reality, and how they write memories of the Soviet era through distorted reality and fantasy images. The aspirin pill in the work symbolizes the intersection of fantasy and reality, metaphorically reflecting on the nostalgic emotions of Russian society. Salinikov explores how individuals understand and handle historical memories from the Soviet era through fantasy elements, as well as the insights these historical relics provide for current reality.

Why is' fantasy 'considered' reality '

Through supernatural elements and modern/postmodern literary concepts, 'Petrov Flu' transforms the real-life story of a family dealing with the flu into an open and meaningful textual field, triggering polysemous interpretation. The surreal, magical, and mythological elements in the novel imply a literary stance based on "reality", exploring the presentation of fantasy elements in Russian literature and the author's attitudes and demands reflected in them. Todorov's concept of "fantasy" emphasizes creating a state of hesitation for readers or characters. Fantasy is a procedural description, manifested as the suspension of an unfinished state, always with uncertainty. The contrast between fantasy and reality becomes its own, and the concept of fantasy is defined by its relationship with reality and imagination.

The Time and Space of Russia under the Metaphor of Influenza

Explored how the flu metaphor in "Petrov Flu" constructs a unique Russian temporal and spatial structure, integrating modern and postmodern literary works into it. Influenza, as a pathological physiological and mental state, blurs the boundary between fantasy and reality, rendering the laws of reality in novels ineffective, while fantasy elements are closely linked to the context of the Russian era. The beginning of the novel implies an abnormal state, where the tram becomes a mysterious carrier leading to another world. Petrov's illness spread with the flu virus, spreading throughout the entire city, making any fantasy possible to become a reality. The character relationships in the novel become reasonable, and can be seen as different individuals, or fantasies of Petrov's flu state, or even all characters are a certain aspect of Petrov's personality. There is an affinity between the symptoms of influenza and the use of fantasy elements. Salinikov chose influenza as a disease metaphor, which is closely related to the characteristics of influenza itself and his understanding of the current situation in Russian society. Influenza forms metaphors on three levels: the illness of the Petrov family, the virus in the city of Yekaterinburg, and the pathology of post Soviet Russian society. This sense of deficiency has been a common emotion in Russian society since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Political upheaval and economic collapse have led to a sharp decline in the international status of the Russian Federation, as well as crises in the fields of faith and ideology. The time logical structure in the novel is disrupted, with past and present life alternating, pointing to the author's intentionally arranged structure. The core event of the novel is Petrov's participation in the New Year's Fir Tree Gala when he was four years old. It was at this gala that Petrov met Marina, a college student who played Snow Girl, and changed the fate of her and her child. Years later, when Petrov, who was already a father, brought his son to a party, he met Igor, who claimed to be his old friend. Igor's appearance and Petrov's current fantasy experience can both justify it. The chaotic timeline in the novel has a central theme - Petrov, during his New Year's flu outbreak in 2008, couldn't help but reminisce about a party from more than twenty years ago. This is not a reflection of the common characteristics of postmodern novels, but rather a very typical nostalgic mentality in post Soviet Russian novels. Faced with this symptomatic era sentiment that pervaded Russian society after the collapse of the Soviet Union, one of the goals of contemporary Russian literary works is to strive to convey this complex nostalgic experience.

Post Soviet nostalgia and 'magical historicism'

Explored the process of Russian director Sheleblynnikov adapting Sarnikov's novel "Petrov's Flu" into a film, as well as the presentation of post Soviet nostalgia and magical historicism in the film. The film captures the nostalgic emotions of the Soviet Union in the 1980s through visual techniques such as handheld shaking of the camera and retro color tones. This emotion is not only reflected in the depiction of daily life details during the Soviet era, but also in the psychological state of Russian citizens. In the novel, Soviet nostalgia is intricately woven into the details of daily life, forming the foundation of life for those who have experienced the Soviet era. Petrov is described as a person whose thinking structure is stuck in childhood, while Petrova compensates for the lack of childhood by reading children's books from the Soviet era. The expired aspirin pills in the film symbolize memories of the Soviet Union. Although expired, they seem to be the most effective remedy in the face of cultural and value fragmentation. Putin's cultural strategy after taking office was also to rebuild Russian beliefs and national pride by emphasizing the achievements of the Soviet era. However, the 'Soviet nostalgia' in the film should not be simply equated with stagnant 'second-hand time', but rather one of the manifestations of postmodernism, described through 'ironic nostalgia' to depict this complexity. The fantasy elements in the film are seen as the result of ironic nostalgia, creating emotional distance through supernatural fantasy elements. Salinikov's novels can be seen as an effort to reconstruct meaning within the onion paradigm, placing new meanings within family life and ethical relationships between individuals. The novel 'Petrov Flu' is rooted in the cultural context of Russian reality, providing an aesthetic case of the integration and influence of history and reality through fantasy elements, reflecting the collective spiritual state of contemporary Russia's lack of meaning. This nostalgia is a symptomatic period emotion in post Soviet Russian novels.