In light of talking about the Silver Age and the Russian ballet today in class, I found this video published by Berkley discussing the Silver Age and some of the notable artists that came out of it. This is not … Read more

Slap in the Face of Public Taste (1912) https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AA_Slap_in_the_Face_of_Public_Taste_(full).pdf&page=1   This post is related to Neuberger’s discussion of Futurism. I hope to add a little bit more context to what she says by discussing the Futurist manifesto “A Slap in … Read more

Dr. McReynolds’ chapter “The Actress and the Wrestler: Gendering Identities” identifies two Russian celebrities — Maria Savina and Ivan Poddubnyi — whose popularity illuminates ways in which gender roles were evolving amidst Russian industrialization. McReynolds references Foucault while introducing her … Read more

Vera Fyodorovna Komissarzhevskaia (8 November 1864 – 23 February 1910) was a major actress and producer in late 19th century Russia. She, and her brother who was also a famous producer and director, were originally trained by their father Fyodor, … Read more

While reading Tolstoy’s The Kreutzer Sonata, I was struck by the looming nature of religion. In the beginning of the novella, the old man characterizes marriage as an institution ordained by God. As an holy ordained institution, marriage therefore cannot … Read more

Darwin’s theory of Evolution by Natural Selection was widely embraced by Russian scientists by the end of the 19th and into the 20th century, and his theory had a profound impact on Russian science and social policies. The impact of … Read more

At the Southern Conference on Slavic Studies, one speak gave a presentation on Nikolai Chernyshevky’s rejection of Darwin. He recounted Chernyshevky’s frequent, and blistering, attacks on Darwin, with him casting dispersions on both the quality of his character and his thought. … Read more

Degeneration was a hugely influential book that built upon the ideas of Cesare Lombroso who was the founder of criminal anthropology. This was the study of links between the nature of a crime that a person has committed and their … Read more

In class on Tuesday I was not terribly surprised to hear that a scientist in the 19th century had tried to develop a model that could identify criminals based on their appearances. It lined up with what I already knew … Read more

Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (1877) depicts the effects of Russia modernization (emanciaption of the serfs and technology). The novel represents archetypes such as the quasi-superfluous man, Vronsky, a dashing young officer in the army who leads Kitty on and chases after … Read more