Science fiction, preferences of russian readers, and the problem of constructing the future

The article presents the results of an all-Russian online survey on Russians’ reading preferences in science fiction literature (N = 1244). The survey was supplemented by the researchers’ immersion in the studied environment through interactions with professional science fiction writers, participation in fan conventions, and engagement with fandom websites. The respondents’ preferences were compared with statistics from the authoritative resource «Laboratory of Science Fiction». The discussion of empirical data is preceded by a theoretical analysis of science fiction as a social phenomenon that fosters scientific, technical, and predictive thinking. The article also examines the evolution of Soviet and Russian science fiction in parallel with the social transformations that occurred in the USSR and the Russian Federation. The study aims to identify, based on empirical data, what lies within the reader’s “field of vision” as a result of their reading preferences and how these preferences may influence their worldview. In part, this is an attempt to discern the «sociotechnical imaginary» that literature helps sustain.