The ideal work of socialist realism should lead the reader to the thought that Soviet power is the best of all.

At the center of the book should be a positive hero. In the past, this was a revolutionary fanatic, like Pavka Korchagin, and today it is a complete idiot, like a secretary of the regional committee, or a conscientious worker who claims that a true revolutionary is one who exceeds production targets and obeys the authorities. The positive hero is a well-built person of the Nordic race (blonde hair, blue eyes, a simple Russian surname, a simple name). He is always ready to sacrifice himself for the salvation of the Motherland, the banner, socialist property, for smelting steel or harvesting crops. He works a lot, smokes a lot, and sleeps little. His relationships with women are mysterious. He only reads Marx, Lenin, and the currently living General Secretary. He is always confident in the righteousness of his cause, speaks quietly but confidently, shakes hands firmly, and looks straight into the eyes. In rare free moments, his favorite pastime is fishing.
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In an exemplary work of socialist realism, there must be so-called "signs of the new." For example, if the positive hero confesses his love to the positive heroine, she interrupts him at the most pathetic moment with an exclamation like, "Oh, a satellite is flying!"

Vladimir Nikolayevich Voinovich (September 26, 1932, Stalinhabad, Tajik SSR, USSR - July 27, 2018, Moscow) was a Russian writer. In 1980, he was stripped of his Soviet citizenship, which forced him to emigrate from the USSR; he lived in Germany until the mid-2000s. He is the author of the song lyrics "I Believe, Friends" ("Fourteen Minutes to Launch"), which became the de facto anthem of Soviet cosmonauts.