To be clear, I’m not looking to learn about the Soviet union’s history. Rather, I want to engage with its culture. I find that a lot of my knowledge of Eastern European literature is Russian-specific and from the early modern period, and I would like to change that view.
solaris is my favorite soviet novel i’ve read so far.
That’s technically Polish, but close enough I guess.
Andromeda Nebula by Ivan Yefremov.
It ostensibly begins as a space exploration sci-fi, but the real focus is on exploring how a future communist society would be organized and the psychology of future communist people.
Obvious but definitely Пикник на обочине, I think there’s a good new(er) translation
I really don’t know anything; better to start with the basics. Tyty
It’s great, then if you have 2 hours and 40 minutes and want to get depressed watch Tarkovsky’s 1979 adaptation Stalker
