Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

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g. кошмар, cauchemar, ‘nightmare’), principally because French was considered to be the language of the nobility and upper-class, much as Latin was the de facto language of international communication, scholarship, and science well into the eighteenth century.

Hence, in many places it became the custom to bury murder victims, those who died by suicide or poisoning, deformed people and sorcerers and witches outside the boundaries of the cemetery. Writing history is uncomplicated but writing about the culture of Russia without being Russian is infinitely more difficult. I began this book not knowing much more than what I had been taught in a Russian history module at A-Level, which also meant I brought with me what could be described as a moderate amount of confusion about Russia, its practices, and people.

I particularly enjoy reading about the Soviet Union and began to trace history back from the revolution with Bunin's Cursed days and Bulgakov's White Guard. According to Figes, the inspiration for matryoshka dolls comes from Chinese nesting doll set with the intention of mass-producing ‘traditional peasant’ handicrafts for the urban middle class. I understood what was behind the circle of incredible Russian composers and artists who all came up under the encouragement of Russophile critic Vladimir Stasov--Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Repin, Kramskoi, Vasnetsov, etc. The book begins in the 18th century and extends through the Soviet regime (20th century AD), completely ignoring anything involving Russian culture before 1700 AD. He argues that - or rather describes how - Russia's upper classes imbibed the peasant life from birth.

gibi yüzyıllarca varlığını devam ettirmiş Rus klanları üzerinden somut örneklerle konuyu daha açıklayıcı bir şekilde aktarmış yazar.I would definitely recommend this book to any anglophone, particularly those living in the core anglosphere, interested in a general history of Russian culture. Figes has gathered a lot of cultural information and organized it into one book, which is very helpful if you want to get a general review of Russia's culture without referring to multiple sources. Instead, Natasha’s Dance whets the appetite of the reader and encourages them to dive headfirst into the incredible, multi-faceted milieu that is the immense Russian cultural heritage. He tried to make the argument that the Asiatic culture is more due to the non-European strain of Russia.