Russian Popular Culture: Entertainment and Society since 1900 (Cambridge Russian Paperbacks, Series Number 7)

This book presents a side of Russian life that is largely unknown to the West - the world of popular culture. By surveying detective and science fiction, popular songs, jokes, box office movie hits, stage, radio and television, Professor Richard Stites introduces the people and cultural products that are household words to Russian people. Spanning the entire twentieth century, the author examines the subcultures that draw upon and enrich Russian popular culture. He explores the relationship between popular culture and the national and social values of the masses, including their heroes and myths, and assesses the phenomenon of the celebrity from the silent screen star to the latest rock music idol. Richard Stites pays particular attention to the dramatic battle between elite and popular culture and to the intervention of revolutions, wars, and the state in the production and control of this culture. This book presents a side of Russian life largely unknown in the West -- the world of popular culture. By surveying detective and science fiction, popular songs, jokes, box office movie hits, the stage, radio and television, Professor Richard Stites introduces the people and cultural products that are household names to ordinary Russian people.Spanning the entire twentieth century, Professor Stites examines the sub-cultures that draw upon and enrich Russian popular culture. He explores the relationship between popular culture and the national and social values of the masses, including their heroes and myths, and assesses the phenomenon of the celebrity from the silent screen star to the latest rock music idol. He pays particular attention to the dramatic battle between elite and popular culture and to the intervention of revolutions, wars and the state in the production and control of this culture.Russian popular culture demonstrates how popular culture has had more impact upon and reveals more about the lives of Russian people than the giants of high culture. It will be widely read by students and specialists of Russian studies, history, literature, and popular culture as well as by anyone interested in the cultural world of the ordinary Russian citizen.

This book presents a side of Russian life that is largely unknown to the West--the world of popular culture. By surveying detective and science fiction, popular songs, jokes, box office movie hits, the stage, radio and television, Richard Stites introduces the people and cultural products that are household words to the Soviet people. He demonstrates how popular culture has over the past century had more impact on the lives of Russian people and reveals more about their lives than the works of giants of high culture. Richard Stites, Professor of History at Georgetown University, is the author of several books, including Revolutionary Dreams: Utopian Vision and Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution.

List of illustrations page x Preface and acknowledgements xiii Glossary xvi Introduction 1 1 In old Russia 1900-1917 9 2 Revolutionary reassortment 1917-1927 37 3 Stalin by starlight 1928-1941 64 4 Holy war and cold war 1941-1953 98 5 Springtime for Khrushchev 1953-1964 123 6 The Brezhnev culture wars 1964-1984 148 7 Perestroika and the people's taste 1985- 178 Greetings and farewell 204 Notes 210 Bibliography 228 Discography 246 Filmography 250 Videography 257 Index 258