On the Russian cultural portal Balkanist, on July 31, 2026, a new article by writer Platon Besedin was published, titled "Milorad Pavić: Pause, Reflect, Save Oneself," dedicated to Pavić's work and its exceptional contemporary relevance.
Starting from the book Biography of Belgrade, Besedin views Pavić as a writer whose key themes—time, memory, the future of the book, changing reading habits, and the search for new novel forms—are perhaps more relevant today than when his most famous texts were written.
The author pays special attention to Pavić's reflections on the transition from the "civilization of the Word" to the "civilization of the Number," the future of the book and the reader, as well as his belief that the novel should not be abandoned, but reinvented.
Besedin sees Pavić as a writer firmly facing the future, interested not only in the literature of his time but also in the future transformations of text, reading, and man's relationship with time.
In the conclusion of the article, Pavić's work is interpreted as a unique defense of literature, culture, and historical memory against oblivion, calling such works "protector-texts" (тексты-обереги)—texts that preserve the continuity of culture and humanity.
Platon Besedin's text represents yet another contemporary reading of Milorad Pavić, showing that the questions raised in his work belong not only to 20th-century literature but also to 21st-century digital culture.
Platon Besedin, "Milorad Pavić: Pause, Reflect, Save Oneself," Balkanist, July 31, 2026.
Read the original text in Russian HERE
