The book I’ve been reading for fun over the last few days could, for once, actually be described as fun: Ben Lewis, Hammer and Tickle: A History of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes (2008). Actually, it isn’t that funny, partly because analyses of humour never are (the worst research seminar I’ve ever been to was […]
All posts in category Russia
Soviet jokes
Posted by Sarah Young on June 10, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/06/10/soviet-jokes/
Imagining St Petersburg
I’ve finally got round to reading Solomon Volkov’s St Petersburg: A Cultural History (Simon & Schuster, 1995). I’ve felt a bit ashamed that I haven’t managed to read it before, but since I reached the half-way point I’ve changed my mind about how important it is, for me at least. It mainly deals with twentieth-century […]
Posted by Sarah Young on May 20, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/05/20/imagining-st-petersburg/
Four short links: Russian avant-garde
Not exactly my speciality, but it will keep a certain someone happy. 1. Architecture and the Russian Avant-Garde: a decent collection of videos on YouTube on the Russian avant-garde of the 1910s and 20s, mainly covering visual arts — Malevich, Tatlin and Rodchenko are particularly well represented. 2. Tango with Cows: really interesting site connected with […]
Posted by Sarah Young on May 12, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/05/12/four-short-links-russian-avant-garde/
Villains and Victims
I’ve just got back from a conference at the University of Nottingham, organized by Sarah Badcock in the History department, entitled ‘Villains and Victims: Justice, violence and retribution in late Imperial and early Soviet Russia.’ It was a small, workshop-style conference with a couple of dozen participants, and like many of the other people there, […]
Posted by Sarah Young on April 8, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/04/08/villains-and-victims/
Four short links: the Stalin era
1. Stalinka: Digital Archive of Staliniana. Lots of images (593 to be precise), including photos, posters, paintings, cartoons, and even a few pictures from the Blue Noses Group’s 2007 Naked Truth series (if you’ve never seen them, and aren’t easily offended, do take a look). Those works notwithstanding, I’m somewhat dubious about the concept of […]
Posted by Sarah Young on March 13, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/03/13/four-short-links-the-stalin-era/
Four short links: resources on pre-revolutionary Russia
1. Russian Visual Arts: Art Criticism in Context, 1814-1909. Nice research archive of images and texts from the period, with lots of search options. Good for finding interesting and unexpected things, though occasionally difficult to find the images you’re actually looking for. A lot of the images are in black and white, which seems odd […]
Posted by Sarah Young on March 6, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/03/06/four-short-links-resources-on-pre-revolutionary-russia/
Krupskaya: an apology
I’ve been criticized by my boyfriend for my unsisterly (although true — even he admits it) comment about Nadezhda Krupskaya in a recent post. So, I apologise, and instead will enumerate some of the many valid reasons there are to dislike the woman. There is, of course, her dreadful hagiography, Reminiscences of Lenin. And the fact […]
Posted by Sarah Young on February 16, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/02/16/krupskaya-an-apology/
Four short links: eat, drink and be merry
Or… Four slightly random Russian-related things that have very little in common other than the fact that they’re somewhat more fun that my usual preoccupations. The first two are my favourite Russian news stories from the last few days — they certainly make a change from the usual fare. My thanks to John for alerting […]
Posted by Sarah Young on January 31, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/01/31/four-short-links-eat-drink-and-be-merry/
Not thrilled
Although I’m probably an intellectual snob in some ways, I’m quite happy to admit I enjoy a good thriller, particularly during term time when I get so exhausted that my bedtime reading has to be fairly undemanding. And given my fascination with all things Russian, I like reading about Russia in my spare time as […]
Posted by Sarah Young on November 12, 2009
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2009/11/12/not-thrilled/