Reinventing Russia : : Russian Nationalism and the Soviet State, 1953-1991 / / Yitzhak M. Brundy.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter HUP eBook Package Archive 1893-1999
• VerfasserIn: Brundy, Yitzhak M.,
• Place / Publishing House: Cambridge, MA : : Harvard University Press, , [2021]; ©1998
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Russian Research Center Studies ; 91
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (364 p.)

What caused the emergence of nationalist movements in many post-communist states? What role did communist regimes play in fostering these movements? Why have some been more successful than others? To address these questions, Yitzhak Brudny traces the Russian nationalist movement from its origins within the Russian intellectual elite of the 1950s to its institutionalization in electoral alliances, parliamentary factions, and political movements of the early 1990s. Brudny argues that the rise of the Russian nationalist movement was a combined result of the reinvention of Russian national identity by a group of intellectuals, and the Communist Party's active support of this reinvention in order to gain greater political legitimacy. The author meticulously reconstructs the development of the Russian nationalist thought from Khrushchev to Yeltsin, as well as the nature of the Communist Party response to Russian nationalist ideas. Through analysis of major Russian literary, political, and historical writings, the recently-published memoirs of the Russian nationalist intellectuals and Communist Party officials, and documents discovered in the Communist Party archives, Brudny sheds new light on social, intellectual, and political origins of Russian nationalism, and emphasizes the importance of ideas in explaining the fate of the Russian nationalist movement during late communist and early post-communist periods. Table of Contents: Acknowledgments 1. Russian Nationalists in Soviet Politics 2. The Emergence of Politics by Culture, 1953-1964 3. The First Phase of Inclusionary Politics, 1965-1970 4. The Rise and Fall of Inclusionary Politics, 1971-1985 5. What Went Wrong with the Politics of Inclusion? 6. What Is Russia, and Where Should It Go? Political Debates, 1971-1985 7. The Zenith of Politics by Culture, 1985-1989 8. The Demise of Politics by Culture, 1989-1991 Epilogue: Russian Nationalism in Postcommunist Russia Notes Index Reviews of this book: Mr. Brudny provides a salient background to understanding one of the great phenomena of post-1945 history: how Russians arrive at their view of the West.--Ron Laurenzo, Washington TimesReviews of this book: Brudny is a good guide to the origins of what probably lies ahead.--Geoffrey A. Hosking, Times Literary SupplementReviews of this book: If readers think that today's anti-Western, antimarket, antisemitic variety of Russian nationalism is simply the fallout from the country's current misery, they should think again. With care and intelligence, Brudny traces its lineage back to the Khrushchev years. What began among the so-called village prose writers as a lament for a rural past ravaged by Stalin's experimentation gradually accumulated further grievances: the devastation of Russian culture and monuments, the infiltration of 'corrupting' Western values, and ultimately under Gorbechev the 'criminal' destruction of Russian power. Much of the book concentrates on how Khrushchev and Brezhnev tried--but ultimately failed--to harness this discontent for their own purposes.--Robert Legvold, Foreign AffairsReviews of this book: Brudny's survey of relations between Russian nationalism and the Soviet state provides an in-depth insight into one of the most complicated aspects of the Soviet multi-national state.--Taras Kuzio, International AffairsReviews of this book: A thought-provoking book.--Virginia QuarterlyReviews of this book: Brudny shows that Russian cultural nationalism was a powerful force in the post-Stalin years, with ultimate political consequences. In meticulous detail Brudny sets out the various strains of Russian nationalism and points to the regime's encouragement of a certain kind of nationalism as a means of bolstering legitimacy through the 'politics of inclusion'.This volume is a sign

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Russian Nationalists in Soviet Politics -- 2 The Emergence of Politics by Culture, 1953-1964 -- 3 The First Phase of Inclusionary Politics, 1965-1970 -- 4 The Rise and Fall of Inclusionary Politics, 1971-1985 -- 5 What Went Wrong with the Politics of Inclusion? -- 6 What Is Russia, and Where Should It Go? Political Debates, 1971-1985 -- 7 The Zenith of Politics by Culture, 1985-1989 -- 8 The Demise of Politics by Culture, 1989-1991 -- Epilogue: Russian Nationalism in Postcommunist Russia -- Notes -- Index