Russian Literature Commons^™

Review Of The Art And Science Of Making The New Soviet Man In Early 20th-Century Russia By Yvonne Howell, Nikolai Krementsov, Tim Harte

Russian Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Vortex That Unites Us: Versions Of Totality In Russian Literature, By Jacob Emery, José Vergara

Russian Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Writing Outside The Soviet Canon: Aleksandr Kozachinskii's "The Green Wagon" As Roman A Clef And Odesa Memoir, Cassio F. De Oliveira

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay analyzes Aleksandr Kozachinskii’s 1938 Russian-language novella “The Green Wagon” as a roman à clef and exemplar of the Odesa Myth that has been unjustly neglected in literary scholarship. Reasons for the neglect of “The Green Wagon” include the historical context of its publication, between the Great Purges of 1936–1938 and the outbreak of World War II; Kozachinskii’s untimely death; and the conventional interpretation of the novella that reduces it to a fictionalized account of Kozachinskii’s friendship with Evgenii Petrov in Odesa during the early Soviet period. Against such a reductionist reading, and on the basis of recent archival-based …

Ruslan And Lolita: Nabokov's Pursuit Of Pushkin's Monsters, Maidens, And Morals, Ludmila Lavine

Faculty Journal Articles

This article discusses the Russian precursor to Humbert’s explicit “kingdom by the sea”: Pushkin’s mock-epic Ruslan and Liudmila (RL). An amalgam of Slavic and Western folklore that scandalized the reading public in its day, Pushkin’s work underpins Nabokov’s own transnational position as a writer whose splash onto the Anglophone scene was accompanied by similar outcries of smut and pornography. In addition to a multitude of fairy-tale sources already documented in the scholarship, Lolita’s cluster of mermaids, sleeping beauties, dark magic, invisibility, pursuit and captivity, physical topography, and “brothers”-rivals finds in Pushkin’s RL a synthesizing subtext. Moreover, Pushkin’s play …

A Russian Gil Blas, Or The Adventures Of Prince Gavrilo Simonovich Chistyakov, Vasily Trofimovich Narezhny, Ronald D. Leblanc (Translator)

Faculty Publications

Although Vasily Trofimovich Narezhny (1780-1825) is generally considered to be one of the pioneers of the modern novel in Russia, his works have yet to be sufficiently recognized for their many artistic merits. He receives little critical attention in most histories of the rise of the novel in early nineteenth-century Russia. Born in Ukraine, but educated in Moscow, Narezhny wrote lengthy satirical novels imbued with a sardonic tone and an earthy brand of realism that tended to offend the refined aesthetic sensibilities of many contemporary followers of Nikolai Karamzin and his dominant school of literary Sentimentalism during the early years …

Baba Yaga: An Ecofeminist Analysis Of The Witch Of The Woods, Maya Lozinsky

Scripps Senior Theses

In this thesis, I will argue that Baba Yaga’s prevalence in Russia’s culture and media provide a unique opportunity to gain insight into the junctures between the climate crisis and gender inequality in Russia. Despite the persistent gender inequities present in current Russian society, ecofeminist frameworks and ideologies are already deeply embedded in Russian culture. Women, as a group, have always been politically active in Russia, from resisting the introduction of Christianity in the 9th century, to the feminist resistance group Pussy Riot founded in 2011. I will examine Baba Yaga’s history, her role in the Russian folktale, and her …

The Illustrated Ivan: Ivan Iv In The Illustrated Chronicle Compilation, Charles J. Halperin, Ann M. Kleimola

Russian Language and Literature Papers

The surviving segments of the incomplete Illustrated Chronicle Compilation (LLS), in both text and miniatures, present a consistently positive image of Ivan IV as pious, just and competent, although the portrayal of individual events could vary. Nevertheless they also sometimes portray him as not in control of his elite, his subjects or events. If Ivan had to restore order by punishing those who had acted unjustly without his permission, then he had obviously failed to prevent such misdeeds. The miniatures in LLS present a cohesive image of the Public Ivan, despite the various stages of completion of individual segments, efforts …

Samozvanets (The Pretender), Matthew Garrell, Alikzandr Malakov

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

he Russian word Samozvanets most directly translates to Imposter in English. However, for this thesis, I have selected the alternative interpretation of Pretender. Imposter implies the taking or assuming of another’s position. Pretender, more personally, carries the meaning of presenting self as something one is not. It is through the lens of the Pretender that I examine the idea of what it means to be a member of a particular ethnicity, and to engage with one’s cultural heritage. I do this through a collection of fictional stories, investigating various lives within the Russian diaspora following the dissolution of the Soviet …

God Poezii 2023, Victor Fet

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Fet, V. (ed.). God poezii 2023 [Year of Poetry 2023]. Kyiv: Drukarskii dvir Oleha Fedorova. 2023. 520 p.

"Year of Poetry 2023" has brought together over 100 authors of various generations from different countries who continue to write in Russian outside the borders of a crumbling empire. There is no longer a shared past in this language—it has shattered. Yet there remain conscience, memory, love, hatred, hope, and faith in victory. We are proud that this book is being published in Kyiv. Whatever we write about, the hearts and verses of those who cannot remain silent stand with a fighting …

Gamblers And The Game Of Life: A Literary Examination Of The Professional And The Addict, Annika Ozizmir

CMC Senior Theses

The gambler is a mysterious persona in life and in literature. Who is the gambler? While we can envision the gambler as many different kinds of people, this thesis seeks to answer this question by focusing on certain literary figures who gamble. Its author analyzes two archetypes in particular, that of the professional gambler and that of the addict. To illustrate these types, the author looks to four protagonists from a mix of four novels and short stories: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, “A Gentleman’s Game” by Jonathan Lethem, “Queen of Spades” by Alexander Pushkin, and The Gambler by Fyodor …

To Whom Did Pushkin Write? The Narrator-Reader Friendship In Eugene Onegin, Tatum Grace Hall

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis, I argue that in his novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, Alexander Pushkin transcends the traditional narrator-reader hierarchy to foster a sense of friendship between himself and his reader. I suggest that Pushkin’s desire for friendship with his reader necessitates a keen awareness of his and his reader’s collective engagement within the novel. If Pushkin seeks friendship with his readers, he must treat them as friends. Consequently, the reader’s role in Eugene Onegin is elevated to that of Pushkin’s intimate. In my analysis, I identify three methods by which Pushkin successfully fosters a sense of overlapping experience …

Tкань Памяти. Стихи Августа-Декабря 2022., Victor Fet

Open Access Books

Фет, В. Tкань памяти. Стихи августа-декабря 2022. Київ: Друкарський двiр Олега Федорова. 2022. 148 с.

«Ткань памяти» — продолжение предыдущей книги стихов, «Над бездной» (К.: Друкарський двiр Олега Федорова, 2022). Я несказанно рад, что стихи пишутся, и что я могу своим словом издалека поддержать друзей в борющейся Украине. В 2022 году история убыстрилась в сотни раз. Мы, может быть — последние, кто пишет на этом, стремительно исчезающем языке. В империи он умрёт от позора, его покроет вечная мерзлота. Нас, возможно, будут читать, как сегодня читают латынь — в будущих университетах свободных стран. Многие по …

Над Бездной. Стихи Этого Года., Victor Fet

Open Access Books

Фет, В.  Над бездной. Стихи этого года. Київ: Друкарський двiр Олега Федорова. 2022. 136 с.

В эту книгу вошли стихи, написанные за 200 дней войны, с февраля по сентябрь 2022 года. Их много, гораздо больше, чем я писал когда-либо ранее за полгода. Я полжизни (34 года) живу в Америке, где мой русский язык сегодня работает на энергии моего украинского летнего детства. Я рос в Сибири, но стал биологом на берегах Херсонской и Одесской областей, где мы с родителями стояли в палатке на берегу моего первого моря. Запахи и звуки этого вечного времени и пространства питают сегодня мою вселенную, …

Making The Old New: The Recontextualization And Traditionalization Of Tree Spirits In Video Games, Alexandria Ziegler

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Folklorists study the active rituals between humans and deities, as well as the inactive participation between them in narrative. However, they do not study the active participation that comes in the form of video games between them, though with shifts in society, this new way of engaging through digital forms is widespread and accessible. In my research, I studied Russian and Japanese tree spirits in a variety of video games to understand this new form of engagement with ancient deities. These video games are Okami, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Black Book, and The Witcher 3: The …

Writing Dystopia: Zamyatin’S Writing Philosophy, Genre, And The Protagonist Of We, Kelly A. Gallagher

College Honors Program

This thesis examines how Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884-1937) came to write one of the first literary dystopias. I argue that he designed dystopia in his novel We as a place that threatens the creation of what he considered “true literature,” in order to show why his conception of true literature is essential to the survival of the human spirit. The first chapter synthesizes Zamyatin’s critical essays and biographical details to reveal his writing philosophy, which I characterize as his belief that “creative revolution” sustains literature’s movement forward into the future. The second chapter explores why Zamyatin’s philosophy may have …

I Return My Ticket, Caroline Caldwell

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

This project serves to open up an accessible way to introduce people to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s masterpiece novel, The Brothers Karamazov. Questions around human nature and the problem of evil are enduring and I have found more peace in the works of Dostoevsky than anywhere else. I know, however, that Russian literature and long novels in general are incredibly intimidating, so I chose to follow in the footsteps of Dave Malloy and his work Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 to create an approachable and engaging avenue to consume Dostoevsky in a more palatable fashion. Knowledge of other cultures …

Starry-Eyed: Elena Shvarts As "The Girl With One Hundred Forty-Eight Birthmarks, Laura Little

Slavic Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of 'Nabokov In Motion: Modernity And Movement' By Yuri Leving, Tim Harte

Russian Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

This Land Is Your Land: Andrei Bitov Travels Through The Caucasus, José Vergara

Russian Faculty Research and Scholarship

The present article examines Andrei Bitov’s Lessons of Armenia (Uroki Аrmenii) and A Georgian Album (Gruzinskii al’bom) as examples of subversive late-Soviet travel writing. While some scholars have noted imperialist tendencies in the two travelogues, I argue that Bitov effectively challenges the colonial perspective. Besides considering the Soviet state’s push for travel writing and tourism while Bitov was writing his texts, the article uses Mary Louise Pratt’s deconstruction of colonialist travel writing as a theoretical framework. Adapting and extending her work, I examine how Bitov consistently deploys and subverts three key devices: mastery of the seen/scene, …

God Poezii 2022, Victor Fet

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Fet, V. (ed.). God poezii 2022 [Year of Poetry 2022]. Kyiv: Drukarskii dvir Oleha Fedorova. 2022. 656 p.

Year of Poetry 2022 brought together around 90 authors of different generations from various countries who continue to write in Russian beyond the borders of the crumbling empire. We are proud that this book is being published in Kyiv. Whatever we write about, the hearts and poems of those who cannot remain silent are with fighting Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine!

Год поэзии 2022. (Сост. В. Фет). Київ: Друкарський двiр Олега Федорова. 2022. 656 c …