Understanding Russia: A Cultural History

Description

Introduction Professor Biography Course Scope Lecture Guides Lecture 1—A Russian Past, the Putin Future Background on Russia New Ideas Russia’s Beginnings Mongol Invasions The Rise of Moscow Russian Independence Lecture 2—Ivan the Terrible’s 500-Year Reign Background Fear and Awe Military Reform Absolute Authority Ivan IV’s Later Reign Ivan IV’s Return Other Wars Ivan IV’s Legacy Lecture 3—The Russian Orthodox Church Christianity’s Arrival Ivan IV Boris Godunov Resistance to Change Later Rulers Demands for Change Lecture 4—Peter the Great and a European Empire Background Peter’s Early Activities Peter Rules Alone Military Activities European Tinges Back to War Lecture 5—Russia’s Northern Window on Europe Building St. Petersburg Housing and Art The Kunstkamera Museum Education After Peter The Elizabethan Age Lecture 6—Nobility, the Tsar, and the Peasant Background Marriage Ivan IV’s Measures The Time of Troubles The Romanov Dynasty Peter the Great Later Changes Political Upheaval Lecture 7—The Authentic Russia: Popular Culture A Culture Shift The French Influence Russian Stories Specific Themes Resilient Practices Lecture 8—Catherine the Great and the Enlightenment Early Life Peter III’s Rise and Fall Catherine and the Enlightenment Catherine and Law Geopolitical Aspirations Resistance Catherine’s Legacy Lecture 9—Alexander Pushkin’s Russia Background Pushkin’s Early Work Eugene Onegin The Bronze Horseman and the End of Pushkin Lecture 10—Alexander II, Nihilists, and Assassins Early Reign Alexander versus Serfdom After the Manifesto Uprisings Other Reforms Assassination Attempts and Revolution Land and Freedom The People’s Will Lecture 11—The Age of Realism in Russian Art Russian Revivals Realism A Change in Power Afanasev, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy Visual Arts Music Lecture 12—Russian Fin de Siècle and the Silver Age Patrons Literature Theater Ballet Russian Artists Russian Writers Lecture 13—Empire across Two Continents Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible Mongol Territory Peter the Great Catherine the Great Alexander I Nationality and Control Russification Conclusion Lecture 14—The Rise and Fall of the Romanovs Background Early Advances After Alexei Reforms and Repression Nicholas II’s Reign Rasputin End of the Dynasty After Abdication Lecture 15—Russian Radicals, War, and Revolution The Breaking Point Russian Losses 1917 After Abdication The Bolsheviks Lecture 16—The October 1917 Revolution Lenin Bolshevik Organization Bolshevik Takeover Bolshevik Force Breaking from the Past Ruinous Peace Lecture 17—Lenin and the Soviet Cultural Invasion Civil War The Cheka Terror and Counterrevolution Propaganda Public Adoration The Cult of Lenin Lecture 18—The Roaring Twenties, Soviet Style Literacy and Education Soviet Women Religion The USSR Artistic Changes Film Lecture 19—The Tyrant Is a Movie Buff: Stalinism Industrial Efforts Famine Secret Police Celebrating Stalin Stalin versus Religion The Moscow Metro Socialist Realism Enemies Within Lecture 20—The Soviets’ Great Patriotic War Hitler’s Motivations Early in the War German and Soviet Advances Film Poetry and Radio War and Religion After the War Lecture 21—With Khrushchev, the Cultural Thaw After the War Anti-Semitism After Stalin Critical Reflection Soviet Politics Conclusion Lecture 22—Soviet Byt: Shared Kitchen, Stove, and Bath Urbanization Mass Housing Voices from the West The Space Race and Religion Soviet Education Queues and Blat Soviet Women Lecture 23—Intelligentsia, Dissidents, and Samizdat   Nicholas I The Bolsheviks Art under Khrushchev Privacy and Crackdowns The Visual Arts Andrei Sakharov Lecture 24—Soviet Chaos and Russian Revenge Background on Gorbachev and Brezhnev Aging Leaders Gorbachev’s Reform Attempts Foreign Policy and Yeltsin End of the USSR After the USSR Vladimir Putin Supplementary Material Bibliography Image Credits