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Zakhar Grigorievich Oskotsky
was born in 1947 in Leningrad, Russia (now St. Petersburg).
Zakhar Oskotsky is a graduate of the Leningrad Technological Institute. From 1970 to 1987, he worked at a research institute, where more
than twenty of his inventions were patented.
A prose writer and a commentator on public affairs, Zakhar Oskotsky was first published in 1980.
He is the author of short stories, historical essays and articles published in magazines,
collections and newspapers. He also penned the script
for "History's Paradoxes", a St. Petersburg television series;
articles in periodical publications by the Russian Academy of Sciences;
"The Humane Bullet", a book dedicated to scientific-technological progress in light of historical events;
"Troy's Last Tower" ("2085"), an anti-utopian science fiction novel;
"The Winter Express Train. The Chronicle of The Soviet Era", a novel about the generation of the 1950s through 1980s in the USSR; and "The Morning Rosy Era. Russia-2024", an anti-utopian novel.
Zakhar Oskotsky is a member of the Russian Professional Literary Union.
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Publications
- tales and stories included in compilations of Leningrad writers:
"Point of Support-80" (1980),
"Point of Support-82" (1982),
"Young Leningrad-83" (1983),
"The Wharf" (1987) and
"Arrhythmia" (1990)
- stories in the "Neva", a St. Petersburg literary journal
- studies, articles and essays in magazines and newspapers:
"Neva",
"Petersburg at Rush Hour",
"Saint-Petersburg University",
"Popular Mechanics" and others
- articles in periodical publications by the Russian Academy of Sciences: The "In Defense of Science" collected articles, "Common Sense" magazine, "Troitsky variant" newspaper
- "The Humane Bullet". A book on science, politics, history and the future (2001, republished in 2012 in its original form with complementary articles and essays) /in Russian/
- "Troy's Last Tower" ("2085"). An anti-utopian science fiction novel (2004) /in Russian/
- "The Morning Rosy Era. Russia-2024". An anti-utopian novel (2012) /in Russian/
- "The Winter Express Train. The Chronicle of The Soviet Era". A historical novel (2014) /in Russian/
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The most influential factor on world affairs is scientific and technological progress.
As a result, civilization will be confronted by two major crises in the twenty-first century.
Most urgently, a resolution must be found to the conflict between the West and the Third World,
which is caused by a massive increase in population (demographic transition) in underdeveloped nations that are already waging
terror against the world.
A turning point very likely will be reached in the next two or three decades: the West,
realizing that direct military action will not bring about victory, will launch a large-scale campaign to forcefully limit
the birthrate in underdeveloped countries.
Upon analyzing available sources of information, one can gather that the West is currently developing new, non-lethal
biological means that could realize such a campaign to limit birthrates. Zakhar Oskotsky calls it "Contraceptive War". This would allow a victimless,
destruction-free victory. Thus, by the end of the twenty-first century, Earth will not have eleven or twelve billion
inhabitants, as UN experts now predict, but only three or four billion. Terrorism will gradually diminish. It seems
the "end of history", as predicted by futurologists, will indeed arrive.
At that point, it will become clear that the world's previous crises - crises caused
by the laws of mass human behavior - were mere preludes: the true crisis, one based on human
nature, is taking form only now.
It can be predicted that, by the end of the twenty-first century, the fast-developing field of genetic engineering
will allow the average life span to double to approximately one hundred and fifty years,
with future prospects of prolonging life even further. This will cause significant and irreversible changes.
Although overpopulation will no longer be a concern, the survival of a practically immortal
population depends on a deep change in human psyche, as well as a new understanding
of civilization's goals.
These and other problems influenced by scientific and technological progress in the course
of history are examined in detail in Zakhar Oskotsky's books, including the nonfiction
commentary in "The Humane Bullet" and the anti-utopian "Troy's Last Tower" ("2085"). |
The anti-utopian "Troy's Last Tower" ("2085"). The chapters 1-3 about "Contraceptive War", written in 2000-2004 /in English/
Switch to the Russian version
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