Monthly Archives: March 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/25/lenin-love-literature-russian-revolution-soviet-union-goethe Seems relevant! The article mentions Belinskii’s letter to Gogol, among other topics we’ve covered. A piece that Lenin wrote on Tolstoy is also cited, which I found particularly interesting: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1908/sep/11.htm

The revolutionaries described in this chapter are, by and large, not very impressive. They never seem to have much understanding of the political situation in Russia and what it would actually take to accomplish real change or build a revolutionary … Continue reading →

I’m very interested in the role that individualism plays in securing the foundations of a revolutionary movement. Saunders identifies two broad movements within the revolutionary faction of Russian society: the Lavrovists and the Bakuninists. Lavrov argued that the development of … Continue reading →

During the reign of Nicholas I and the unrest following the Decembrist Revolt, many educated people came together to discuss how to best move forward as a nation. For many, this required first identifying what it truly meant to be … Continue reading →

As we have previously read, Catherine II initially saw herself as the “enlightened despot” and harbinger of Russia’s westernization before doubling back on herself in light of events in France. The Captain’s Daughter, set during Catherine’s reign, describes the experiences of Pyotr (the son of … Continue reading →

I felt that evident in “The Captain’s Daughter” was a criticism of the alienation of social groups under Catherine, particularly ethnic groups. Pushkin frames his novel with multiple moments of extreme violence – first with the violent beating of the … Continue reading →

I was interested in the justification for torture that Pyotr/Pushkin describes and the argument he uses against it: “In the old days torture was so ingrained in legal procedure that the beneficial decree that abolished it long remained without any … Continue reading →

In Peter the Great’s eulogy, he was praised for having “transformed the existing architecture, [which was] coarse and deformed in the utmost degree; or rather, he caused architecture to be born in this country” (Cracraft, 78). Cracraft goes on to … Continue reading →

It seems that, through many of Peter’s revolutionary exploits, there was often an existing, Russian precedent for the changes that Peter was making. For instance, when looking at the introduction of modern European motifs in architecture, Cracraft states, “Certain minor … Continue reading →

Russia acquired its storied tradition of icon painting from the Byzantine Empire, with the introduction of Christianity into Russia centuries before Peter’s reign. The practice served as Russia’s primary form of artistic output until, as a result of Western influence, … Continue reading →