E-Book, Englisch, 212 Seiten, EPUB
ISBN: 978-1-4008-2215-7
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
In its most basic sense, the Russian idea is the belief that Russia can forge a path in the modern world that sets itself apart from the West through adherence to shared beliefs, community, and equality. These cultural values, according to McDaniel, have mainly reversed the values of Western society rather than having provided a real alternative to them. By relying on the Russian idea in their programs of change, dictatorial governments almost unavoidably precipitated social breakdown.
When the Yeltsin government declared war on the Communist past, it broke with deeply held Russian values and traditions. McDaniel shows that in cutting people off from their pasts and promoting the West as the sole model of modernity, the reformers have simultaneously undermined the foundations of Russian morality and the people's sense of a future. Unwittingly, the Yeltsin government has thereby annihilated its own authority.
McDaniel lived in Russia for three years during both the Communist and post-Communist periods. Basing his analysis on broad historical research, extensive travels, countless interviews and conversations, and friendships with Russians from all walks of life, McDaniel emphasizes the perils of assuming that Russians understand the world in the same way that we do, and so can and should become like us. Challenging and provocative in its claims, this book is intended for anyone seeking to understand Russia's attempts to create a new society.
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Weitere Infos & Material
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Cycles of Breakdown in Russia 3
Ch. 1 The Russian Idea 22
Ch. 2 The Dilemmas of Tsarist Modernization 56
Ch. 3 The Logic of Soviet Communism 86
Ch. 4 A Viable Form of Modern Society? 118
Ch. 5 The Failure of Yeltsin's Reforms 162
Notes 187
Select Bibliography 195
Index 199