Well, here I have some brief remarks on some aspects of Russian culture in about the last fifty years or so. That's about the same amount of time that we covered in HIS 241 with the Golden Age and then earlier in this course with the Silver Age. While Leonid Brezhnev clamped down on much freedom of expression in the 1960s and 1970s, there were still important works produced by Russian artists. I'm going to comment only briefly on literature, music and cinema.
Let me start with some notes about Russian literature.
- First, and understandably, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a giant of the Russian (and world) literary world in the 1970s, even though he was in forced exile in the United States. His three-volume, documentary-memoir, The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (Arkhipelag Gulag, 1973) was such an important work that documented the history of those who had disappeared in the Russian prison camp system. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Solzhenitsyn assumed more of an authoritative, spiritual role, much like of that the elder Lev Tolstoi in the 1890s and 1900s
- Second, in the later 1960s a new group of writers emerged who were often called the "village writers." Their writing focused on rural life, and often examined the impact of Soviet modernization projects on the life of Russian peasants. Some writers slightly idealized rural life, while others described the hard life of the Soviet peasantry. Valentin Rasputin's novel, Farewell to Matyora (Прощание с Матёрой, 1979) might be the most famous work of this "village prose" (Деревенская проза). The novel focused on a Siberian village about to be flooded as part of an enormous Soviet hydroelectric dam. Other "village prose" authors included Aleksandr Iashin (1913-68), Vasilii Belov,(1932-2012) and Vasilii Shukshin (1929-74).
- Third, Vladimir Voinovich (1932-) is one of my favorite writers because of his brilliant humor and satire. He was forced to emigrate from Russia in 1980 and settled in Germany. The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin (Жизнь и необычайные приключения солдата Ивана Чонкина, 1975) is set in the Red Army during World War II and pokes fun at the absurdities of the Soviet Regime. The Ivankiad (Иванькиада, или Рассказ о вселении писателя Войновича в новую квартиру, 1976) documents the travails of a writer trying simply to get an apartment in Moscow and the bureaucratic run-around that he experiences. Monumental Propaganda (Монументальная пропаганда, 2000) is yet another critique of the unchanging nature of Russian society.
- OK, I've added a fourth point. The 1990s witnessed the publication of works that had been long banned, destroyed or forgotten in Russia, such as Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago (just mentioned) and Vasilii Grossman's (1905-64), Life and Fate (Жизнь и судьба, written 1959, published 1988).
While there is some general cultural material in the textbook, and while I know quite a bit about the history of rock music in the world, I have to admit that I do not know many details about the wide diversity of Russian pop or rock music, but it is easy for me to single out Vladimir Vysotskii (Владимир Высоцкий, 1938-1980), as one of the most important figures in Russian music, poetry and cinema. His songs tend to be rambling, poetic discourses in roughly the same manner as some of Bob Dylan's extended songs ("Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts," "Blowing in the Wind," "Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again"). Vysotskii also had a satyric quip about him, and a way to turn phrases that gave listeners an understanding of what he was really trying to say, but which couldn't be said (a sort of Aesopian language). Most of his music passed hand-to-hand on home-made cassette tapes. (Now you can find a lot of his music on the web. This site has a link to over twenty hours of streaming Vysotskii.) He was a troubadour, a bard, a musical poet that was the voice of his generation--even though he would vehemently disagree with such a characterization. Because of his tongue-in-cheek style, few of his recordings could be published while he was alive. He was also an extremely successful and much loved actor and is buried in the Vagankovskoye Cemetery in Moscow.
In cinema, Russia has had some truly talented directors, despite the Soviet regime's many obstacles. Here are just three:
- Andrei Tarkovskii (1932-86) is routinely considered one of the world's greatest film-makers. Solaris (Солярис, 1972), based on Stanislaw Lem's 1961 novel of the same name, depicts scientists examining the watery surface of the planet Solaris from a circling space station, while the planet, in turns, manipulates the thoughts of the scientists. Well worth watching but bizarre. Most of Tarkovskii's films deal with spiritual and metaphysical themes, often without any clear forward plot structure, and always with long, artistic cinematic takes. Check out some of his films like Ivan's Childhood (Иваново детство, 1962), Andrei Rublev (Андрей Рублёв, 1965), Mirror (Зеркало, 1975) and Stalker (Сталкер, 1979).
- Fedor Bondarchuk (1967-) has two well-received military films to his credit. The 9th Company (9 Рота, 2005) recreates a real-life battle between Soviet forces and the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Stalingrad (Сталинград, 2013) is about the legendary World War II battle and is the first I-max film produced in Russia.
- Elem Klimov (1933-2003) directed the brilliant, yet painful-to-watch, Come and See (Idi i Smotri, 1985), about partisan warfare in Belarus during World War II. Agony (Агония, 1985) is about Rasputin and could not be released in the Soviet Union until 1985 because of its sexual scenes. Farewell (Прощание, 1983) is based on Valentin Rasputin's Farewell to Matyora. (See above.)
Let me also take a quick note of the dissident movement in Russia in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, a movement that lingers in some form maybe even to the present. There are many people that one could take note of here, including Solzhenitsyn, Andrei Sinyavskii (1925-97), Iulii Daniel (1925-88), Iurii Galanskov (1939-72), Aleksandr Ginzburg (1936-2002) and many more.
- Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989), was one of Russia's foremost human rights spokesman. As a Russian nuclear physicist, he worked on the initial Soviet atomic and hydrogen bomb projects. By the 1970s he had become an outspoken critic of the Soviet regime and a spokesman for improving human rights and lessening tensions between east and west.
- The brothers Medvedev (Рой and Жорес Медведев, 1925-) were also prominent critics in the dissident movement of the 1970s and continue to be active today. Roy, a historian by training published Let History Judge (К суду истории), a critique of Stalinism, in English in 1972. He has continued to publish since then. His brother, Zhores, a biologist, suffered forced imprisonment in a psychiatric hospital in May 1970 because of his involvement in the human rights movement. In 1979, he published the sensational expose, The Nuclear Disaster in the Urals (New York, 1979).
Two other prominent features of Russian culture in more recent years include:
- the revival and increased prominence of the Russian Orthodox church, especially under patriarchs Aleksii II (1990–2008) and Kirill I (2009–present), although not without some controversy. In 1998, the remains of Tsar Nikolai II and his family were interred in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg in a very public ceremony.
- the growing interest in the "Russian" past. In the area around Red Square, this involved projects such as the reconstruction of the Resurrection Gate and the Iberian Chapel and the demolition of the Hotel Rossiia.
While Russian society and its cultural expressions have changed greatly in the past fifty years (Just as it has in the United States and other countries of the developed world), we can look at the old saying, "the more it changes, the more it stays the same" (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose), and conclude that some elements of Russian culture are timeless. As I've written here, literature is still prominent, and poetry like that of Vysotskii is still valued. Russian cinema continues the tradition forged by Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin in the 1920s, and the Bolshoi and Mariinksii ballet companies still tour the world as the epitome of classical ballet.
Some recommended books
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, "Matryona's House" (Матрёнин двор, 1963)
- Valentin Rasputin, Farewell to Matyora (Прощание с Матёрой, 1976)
Some recommended websites
- Vladimir Vysotsky (wiki); Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий
- Vladmir Vysotsky: The Official Site; (Russian version)
- You can find translations of his songs on the web, and also audio and video of Vysotsky singing. Check Vladimir Vysotsky: The Official Site for the link to twenty plus hours of Vysotsky streaming.
- 'Vysotsky' Becomes Russia's Highest Grossing Movie of 2011
- Valentin Rasputin (wiki); Валентин Григорьевич Распутин
- Sophia Kishkovsky, Valentin Rasputin, Russian Writer Who Led ‘Village Prose’ Movement, Dies at 77 (There are many other obituaries available online.)
- Andrei Tarkovsky (wiki); Андрей Тарковский
- Andrei Tarkovsky (great "home" page); you can find several of his interviews online.
- Moscow to pull down eyesore hotel
- Andrei Sakharov (wiki); Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров (There is actually quite a bit of information about Sakharov available on the web.)
- Sakharov, winner of the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize. Check the Nobel site for information about Sakharov and his lecture.
- European Parliament's Sakharov Prize
- Francis Kline, Andrei Sakharov, 68, Soviet 'Conscience,' Dies