What is Russia? Who are Russians? What is 'Russianness'? The question of national identity has long been a vexed one in Russia, and is particularly pertinent in the post-Soviet period. For a thousand years these questions have been central to the work of Russian writers, artists, musicians, film-makers, critics, politicians and philosophers. Questions of national self-identity permeate Russian cultural self-expression. This wide-ranging study, designed for students of Russian literature, culture, and history, explores aspects of national identity in Russian culture from medieval times to the present day. Written by an international team of scholars, the volume offers an accessible overview and a broad, multi-faceted introductory account of this central feature of Russian cultural history. The book is comprehensive and concise; it combines general surveys with a wide range of specific examples to convey the rich texture of Russian cultural expression over the past thousand years.
What is Russia? Who are Russians? What is 'Russianness'? The question of national identity has long been a vexed one in Russia, and is particularly pertinent in the post-Soviet period. For a thousand years these questions have been central to the work of Russian writers, artists, musicians, film-makers, critics, politicians and philosophers. Questions of national self-identity permeate Russian cultural self-expression. This wide-ranging study, designed for students of Russian literature, culture, and history, explores aspects of national identity in Russian culture from medieval times to the present day. Written by an international team of scholars, the volume offers an accessible overview and a broad, multi-faceted introductory account of this central feature of Russian cultural history. The book is comprehensive and concise; it combines general surveys with a wide range of specific examples to convey the rich texture of Russian cultural expression over the past thousand years.
List of illustrations; 1. 'All the Russias …?' Simon Franklin and Emma Widdis; Part I. Identities in Time and Space: 2. Russia in time Simon Franklin; 3. Russia as space Emma Widdis; Part II. Contrastive Identities: 'Us' and 'Them': 4. 'Us': Russians on Russianness Hubertus F. Jahn; 5. 'Them': Russians on foreigners Anthony Cross; Part III. 'Essential' Identities: 6. Identity and religion Simon Franklin; 7. Music of the soul? Marina Frolova-Walker; 8. Identity in language Boris Gasparov; 9. Byt: identity and everyday life Catriona Kelly; Part IV. Symbols of Identity: 10. Monuments and identity Lindsey Hughes; 11. 'Pushkin' and identity Stephanie Sandler; Afterword; Notes; Selected further reading in English; Index.
This study explores aspects of national identity in Russian culture from medieval times to the present day.
Simon Frankin is Reader in Slavonic Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of The Emergence of Rus 750-1200 (with Jonathan Shepard, 1996). Emma Widdis is Lecturer in Russian at the University of Cambridge. She is the author of Visions of a New Land: Soviet Film from the Revolution to the Second World War (2003).
'Such is the structure of this work, which would certainly make ideal reading for all students at or beyond the undergraduate level .' MLR '...Franklin and Widdis have offered an interesting and thorough narrative of identity in Russian culture.' The Slavonic and East European Review
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