Greetings, Pushkin! : Stalinist cultural politics and the Russian national bard / Jonathan Brooks Platt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brooks, Joan (Translator), author.

Series:

Series in Russian and East European studies

Pitt series in Russian and East European studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich, 1799-1837--Anniversaries, etc.

Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich.

Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich, 1799-1837.

Festivals--Political aspects--Soviet Union--History.

Festivals.

Monuments--Political aspects--Soviet Union--History.

Monuments.

Eschatology--Political aspects--Soviet Union--History.

Eschatology.

Cultural policy--History.

Cultural policy.

Politics and literature--Soviet Union--History.

Politics and literature.

Popular culture--Soviet Union--History.

Popular culture.

Nationalism--Soviet Union--History.

Nationalism.

History.

Monuments--Political aspects.

Festivals--Political aspects.

Soviet Union--Politics and government--1936-1953.

Soviet Union.

Politics and government.

Soviet Union--Intellectual life--1917-1970.

Intellectual life.

Physical Description:

xi, 365 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, [2016]

Summary:

"In 1937, the Soviet Union mounted a national celebration commemorating the centenary of poet Alexander Pushkin's death. Though already a beloved national literary figure, the scale and feverish pitch of the Pushkin festival was unprecedented. Greetings, Pushkin! presents the first in-depth study of this historic event and follows its manifestations in art, literature, popular culture, education, and politics, while also examining its philosophical underpinnings. Jonathan Brooks Platt looks deeply into the motivations behind the Soviet glorification of a long-dead poet--seemingly at odds with the October Revolution's radical break with the past. He views the Pushkin celebration as a conjunction of two opposing approaches to time and modernity: monumentalism, which points to specific moments and individuals as the origin point for cultural narratives, and eschatology, which glorifies ruptures in the chain of art or thought and the destruction of canons. In the midst of the Great Purge, the Pushkin jubilee was a critical element in the drive toward a nationalist discourse that attempted to unify and subsume the disparate elements of the Soviet Union, supporting the move to 'socialism in one country'"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Pushkin in the Time of Stalin

The Russian Bard in the Land of Soviets

Learning to Live with Pushkin : Pedagogical Texts and Practices

Pushkin Today : Critical and Scholarly Writing

Transfixed at the Threshold : Visual Art and Ekphrastic Writing

History on Horseback : Literature, Drama, and Film

Conclusion: The Legacy of the Jubilee.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780822964155

0822964155

OCLC:

948176193