A stimulating and provocative collection, these essays challenge received notions about the culture and history of medieval Russia and offer fresh approaches to problems of textual interpretation, the theory of the medieval text, and the analysis of alternative, nonverbal texts. The contributors, international specialists from many disciplines, investigate issues ranging over history, cultural anthropology, art history, and ritual. They have produced a worthy companion to the first volume of Medieval Russian Culture, published in 1984.

A stimulating and provocative collection, these essays challenge received notions about the culture and history of medieval Russia and offer fresh approaches to problems of textual interpretation, the theory of the medieval text, and the analysis of alternative, nonverbal texts. The contributors, international specialists from many disciplines, investigate issues ranging over history, cultural anthropology, art history, and ritual. They have produced a worthy companion to the first volume of Medieval Russian Culture, published in 1984. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.

This volume dedicated to Ronald Vroon, Professor of The University of California, Los Angeles, a distinguished scholar of Russian literature, covers a wide range of topics reflecting his broad research interests (various periods in the history of Russian literature in its relationships with visual art, political life, and church). It brings together leading international specialists in the field - Nikolay Bogomolov (Moscow), Aleksandr Dolinin (Madison/WI), Lazar Fleishman (Stanford), Stefano Garzonio (Pisa), Viach. Vs. Ivanov (Moscow-Los Angeles), Marcus Levitt (Los Angeles), Aleksandr Ospovat (Moscow), Fedor Poljakov (Vienna), Roman Timenchik (Jerusalem), Willem Weststeijn (Amsterdam), Viktor Zhivov (Moscow-Berkeley), Aleksandr Zholkovsky (Los Angeles) and others. The book contains 19 contributions in Russian language, and 2 in English.

The acceptance of Christianity in the tenth century is the most significant cultural event in the history of modern Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. A vast reservoir of cultural concepts, expressions, and iconographic images has developed within the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and now Slavic specialists, theologians, historians, and literary scholars can turn to a collection which examines the majestic sweep of a thousand years of Slavic Christianity. This three-volume collection brings together essays from two international conferences. The present volume explores the history and influence of Christianization from the tenth to the seventeenth century. Volume II will examine cultural history from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, and Volume III will examine literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The acceptance of Christianity in the tenth century is the most significant cultural event in the history of modern Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. A vast reservoir of cultural concepts, expressions, and iconographic images has developed within the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and now Slavic specialists, theologians, historians, and literary scholars can turn to a collection which examines the majestic sweep of a thousand years of Slavic Christianity. This three-volume collection brings together essays from two international conferences. The present volume explores the history and influence of Christianization from the tenth to the seventeenth century. Volume II will examine cultural history from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, and Volume III will examine literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This book is a concise and comprehensive narrative history of Russia from 980 to 1584. It covers the history of the realm of the Riurikid dynasty from the reign of Vladimir 1 the Saint, through to the reign of Ivan the Terrible, who sealed the end of his dynasty's rule. Presenting developments in social and economic areas, as well as in political history, foreign relations, religion and culture, Medieval Russia, 980-1584 breaks away from the traditional view of Old Russia as a static, immutable culture, and emphasises the 'dynamic' and changing qualities of Russian society. Janet Martin develops clear lines of argument that lead to conclusions concerning how and why the states and society of the lands of the Rus' assumed the forms and characteristics that they did. Broadly accessible with informative and provocative interpretations, this book provides an up-to-date analysis of medieval Russia.

When the Soviet communist empire was overthrown by the Russians themselves in August 1991, the change was more clearly anticipated by humanistic students of creativity than by economic and political scientists surrounded by statistics and information. Does the Russian pattern of creativity provide any hints as to how the Russians might solve problems today? Having borrowed the democratic political model of their erstwhile American enemy, will they be able to create a distinctive Russian variant that can endure? Or will they end up destroying their own experiment at accountable, constitutional government and returning to their long tradition of authoritarianism? The Face of Russia--a companion book to the corresponding PBS series--addresses these questions. This is a dazzling and forward-looking history of the Russian people as told through their art--from one of the world's great experts on Russian culture. The story covers eight hundred years of Russian creativity, and introduces us to the new art forms that burst onto the Russian scene and became the vehicles for expressing the creative aspirations of an age as well as the enduring Russian quest to find salvation and entertainment in art.

"A sweeping, intricate description of Russian cultural history, spanning the pre-Romanov era through six centuries to the reign of Joseph Stalin. Flowing with ease through time and topic — from art to music, literature, philosophy, mythology and more — the book provides readers with an alluring portrayal of Russia’s proud heritage. Its impressive scope and lasting insights have made it a foundational text in Russian studies. In fact, it was this book, more than any other, that captured my imagination and propelled me toward the study of Russia and the Soviet Union." --Condoleezza Rice, The New York Times "A rich and readable introduction to the whole sweep of Russian cultural and intellectual history from Kievan times to the post-Khruschev era." - Library Journal Includes Illustrations, references, index.