Empire V (Russian: «Ампир В. Повесть о настоящем сверхчеловеке») is a novel by Victor Pelevin first published in 2006.

In Pelevin's works, vampires are the ruling elite of the world, "The Fifth Empire", which once created man from an ape.

Discourse, in turn, limits people's thinking, so that they do not begin to approach the truth about the true order of the world.

But Pelevin also takes his critique to a higher level, to apply in a broader sense to all world thinking, that monetary production becomes "the only morality, value and goal".

Gradually he becomes more and more accustomed to the fact that all his new acquaintances and himself bear the names of gods, that the word "blood" is indecent to say aloud, and that he is no longer human.

[8] At the end of the novel it turns out that Rama was left undertrained on purpose, but that is what allowed him to remain more human than vampire.

[10] The world of vampires in the novel is only a backdrop, the presence of which is due, among other things, to the trends prevailing in popular culture at the time of the novel's writing.

[11] In fact, the supernatural component can be removed without losing its meaning, and then it turns out that Pelevin is simply describing modern society.

The key concepts are the previously mentioned discourse and glamour, the content of which is disclosed in some detail in the novel (although no clear definitions are given).

The novel also raises fundamental ontological questions, an attempt to answer which is made through the description of the structure and peculiarities of the human brain.

[11] The novel was adapted into a film directed by Victor Ginzburg and starring Pavel Tabakov alongside Oxxxymiron.

The Russian government refused to release a distribution permit for the film in 2022, effectively banning it in the country.