Mir Fantastiki

Mir Fantastiki (Rus. "Мир Фантастики", a.k.a. MF or MirF) is a Russian monthly science fiction and fantasy magazine. The name also refers to the website run by the magazine, Mirf.ru, and official VK community.

"Mir Fantastiki" literally translates from Russian as "World of Speculative Fiction". In Western media it is sometimes referred to as "Fantasy World" or "World of Fiction".

Overview

MF is published by Igromedia publishing house, along with video game magazine Igromania, since September 2003. It is distributed in major ex-USSR countries via trade net and postal subscription, as well as through publisher-owned online shop Journalshop.ru. Its editorial office is situated in Moscow.

Mir Fantastiki used to be one of the main Russian periodical SF&F editions, along with Esli and Polden, XXI vek. Since 2013 it remains the only broadly circulated survivor in its niche after an industry crisis. Unlike the other two, which were literary magazines publishing short stories, Mir Fantastiki is largely devoted to media review and sci-fi/fantasy geek subculture. It covers all sorts of science fiction and fantasy media, whether literature, movies, TV shows, video games or comics. Their official motto is "Fantasy and science fiction in all their aspects".

While the magazine is seen sometimes as a Russian counterpart to Locus or SFX, Mir Fantastiki shares certain traits with both. Its book section is largest and contains not only reviews, but also literary criticism and master classes of writing by experienced authors, most often by H. L. Oldie. However, in other sections it also covers mainstream western science fiction and fantasy franchises, such as Middle-Earth or Star Wars, as well as video game and comic franchises. Mir Fantastiki reviews Horror fiction as well, but less frequently than sci-fi and fantasy.

MirF annually publishes "Year's totals" and names the year's best books, films, games and other media.

Content

There are several general sections in Mir Fantastiki:

1. Book Row - reviews of new releases in Russia, interviews with writers, literary criticism and biographic articles. Also includes comics, manga and web comics columns.
2. Videodrome - reviews of new films, interviews with filmmakers, articles about SF&F cinema of the past, notable filmmakers and special effects. Includes anime and TV series columns.
3. Game Club - consists of the larger video game section and the smaller board game column.
4. Music Center - music album reviews. MF only reviews fantasy-, science fiction- or horror-related albums (in lyrics or concept), that usually includes heavy metal, electronic music and film scores.
5. Gate of the Worlds - articles on the popular fictional universes, creatures and characters. Often includes "Top 10" of various fictional things, conventions reports and interviews with fantasy artists.
6. Time machine - the popular science section: articles dedicated to future technology, history and mythology, "what if" research, "Arsenal" column about weapons and military tactics.
7. Fun Zone - the entertainment section. It usually contains a short story by a popular Russian writer, a comic strip by artist Alexander Remizov, a reader's contest, and occasionally a collection of geek humour.

Technical information

A4, full color, 128 pages, additional materials on DVD.

Circulation: 16000 copies per month (September 2016)

Awards

Mir Fantastiki is a recipient of many Russian and international science fiction and fantasy awards.

• Eurocon "Best magazine" (2006).^[1][2][3]
• Internet-Roscon (2011) - for the website.^[4]
• Strannik (2009)^[4]
• Zilantcon Durandal (2005)
• Aelita (2008)^[4]
• Ivan Yefremov prize (2008)^[5][6]
• Star Bridge (2008)
• Bronze Icarus (2005)^[4]
• The Second Try (2008)^[7]

Personal awards to MirF contributors for their works published in MirF:

• Alexander Belayev prize - to Mikhail Popov (2006) and Vladimir Puziy (2008)^[8][9]
• Rosсon Awards - to H. L. Oldie (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) and Anton Pervushin (2009).

See also

• Russian science fiction and fantasy

References

External links

• Mir Fantastiki official site (in Russian)
• Mir Fantastiki discussion board
• Official Vkontakte community