List of illustrations; Preface and acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. In old Russia 1900–1917; 2. Revolutionary reassortment 1917–1927; 3. Stalin by starlight 1928–1941; 4. Holy War and Cold War 1941–1953; 5. Springtime for Khrushchev 1953–1964; 6. The Brezhnev culture wars 1964–1984; 7. Perestroika and the people's taste 1985; Greetings and farewell; Glossary; Bibliography; Discography; Filmography; Videography; Index.
"In his richly detailed survey of Russian popular culture since
1900, Richard Stites uses largely ignored sources--detective
stories, science fiction, rock-n-roll lyrics, jokes and circus and
vaudeville routines--to reveal a side of Russian life largely
unknown in the West. And yet, this is not a trivial book...Its
great virtue, however, is to illuminate an important and largely
unknown dimension of Russia's social history. Serious, but by no
means solemn, Stites's book is accessible to anyone interested in
learning more about a country and a people that have obsessed and
confused us for almost a century." Washington Post Book World
"With this book, Richard Stites again demonstrates that he is one
of the most creative and original historians currently writing in
the field of twentieth-century Russian history....Although the book
is relatively short, it is a big book--big in ideas and in the
extraordinary richness of the material. Stites writes with
authority, verve, and humor. His book is required reading for
anyone curious about Russia's cultural life in the twentieth
century." Victoria E. Bonnell, American Historical Review
"Richard Stites savors the historian's calling as storyteller. Like
his earlier works on women's emancipatory movements in Imperial and
Soviet Russia and on utopian dreams and practices in the
revolutionary years, this account of popular entertainment from the
waning years of the tsarist regime to the last years of the
Communist order is rich in narrative detail and is engagingly
presented....Stites must be praised for achieving this in a book
that is both useful and a pleasure to 'consume.'" Mark D.
Steinberg, Journal of Modern History
Ask a Question About this Product More... |