Dmitry Glukhovsky’s new novel ‘Registration,’ about Russians seeking to cash in on the war, has been called an émigré’s rebuke to those who stayed behind. Is that fair?

On September 17, Dmitry Glukhovsky posted his new novel, “Registratsiya” (“Registration”), online for free. Set in wartime Russia in the 2020s, it follows the pregnant girlfriend of a contract soldier as she tries to marry him as quickly as possible to qualify for benefits. The book is still stirring debate on social media. Many readers fault Glukhovsky, who has lived outside Russia since 2022, for judging those who stayed so harshly while he himself is relatively safe. Literary critic Liza Birger examines whom Glukhovsky condemns, and why.