Cultural Forms of Protest in Russia

Description

Alongside the Arab Spring, the 'Occupy' anti-capitalist movements in the West, and the events on the Maidan in Kiev, Russia has had its own protest movements, notably the political protests of 2011–12. As elsewhere in the world, these protests had unlikely origins, in Russia’s case spearheaded by the 'creative class'. This book examines the protest movements in Russia. It discusses the artistic traditions from which the movements arose; explores the media, including the internet, film, novels, and fashion, through which the protesters have expressed themselves; and considers the outcome of the movements, including the new forms of nationalism, intellectualism, and feminism put forward. Overall, the book shows how the Russian protest movements have suggested new directions for Russian – and global – politics. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of contents Illustrations Contributors Acknowledgements Note on transliteration Introduction: Genres and genders of protest in Russia’s petrostate Notes References Part I Origins and traditions of protest 1 Fathers, sons, and grandsons: Generational changes and political trajectory of Russia, 1989–2012 From generation to generation: wine, vinegar, and cocktail The sixtiers: the last true believers The seventiers: politics without illusions The post-Soviet generation: a new turn? Conclusion Acknowledgement Note on Transliteration References 2 Dissidents reloaded?: Anti-Putin activists and the Soviet legacy ‘Old’ and ‘new’ dissenters Displaying protests Dissent of the dominant, dissent of the dominated References 3 Why ‘two Russias’ are less than ‘United Russia’: Cultural distinctions and political similarities ... The intelligentsia and the state: a tradition of ‘stylistic divergences’ The protest of the ‘successful and well-fed’ ‘Sha Pu Na Na’ vs. ‘Bo Ro Di No’ Conclusions Acknowledgement Notes References 4 Are copycats subversive?: Strategy-31, the Russian Runs, the Immortal Regiment, and the transformative potential ... Bottom-up and top-down movements in Russia Copycat movements Case selection and sources A subversive defence of the Constitution? Strategy-31 Subversive temperance? The Russian Runs Subversive war commemoration? The Immortal Regiment Conclusion Note and acknowledgements Notes References Interviews 5 Political consumerism in Russia after 2011 Introduction What is political consumerism? State, political consumerism, and nation-building in Russia Consumer nationalism and cultural producers in Russia Good buy, glamour: welcome, patriotic fashion Lifestyles and consumer citizenship Political consumerism and popular support In lieu of a conclusion Notes References 6 Even the toys are demanding free elections: Humour and the politics of creative protest in Russia Introduction Nano-meetings in the snow Setting the toy protest into context: the use of humour in Russian protests What does fun have to do with political protest? Conclusions References Part II Artistic and performative forms of protest 7 Biopolitics, believers, bodily protests: The case of Pussy Riot Introduction Turning the optics of biopolitical conservatism Corporeal protest Vulnerable orthodoxy Conclusion Notes References 8 Hysteria or enjoyment?: Recent Russian actionism Snatching Chicken Pavlenskii’s Law Conclusion Author’s note Notes References 9 Bleep and ***: Speechless protest Mat: the language of protest, or language as protest The silence of protest Protest on screen, documentary style Protest on display: fictional images Conclusion: performing protest Notes References 10 On the (im)possibility of a third opinion The Central Golden Object Room One: Tõnismäe culture Room Two: kinetics of power Room Three: violence Room Four: action Notes References 11 Performing poetry and protest in the age of digital reproduction Avant-garde post– Performing the Russian poet: after Prigov Embodiment and poetic bodies Poets, activists, and digital media The limits of digital emancipation Notes References 12 When satire does not subvert: Citizen Poet as nostalgia for Soviet dissidence Putiniana and the pleasure of recognition Political leadership vs. dissenting cultural leadership The nostalgic subjectivity of post-Soviet liberalism Citizen Poet and kul'tura Conclusion Notes References Index