Romanov Riches: Russian Writers And Artists Under The Tsars
by Solomon Volkov /
2011 / English / EPUB
1.6 MB Download
In a sweeping cultural history of Russia from the rise of the house
of Romanov in 1613 to its downfall at the hands of the Bolsheviks
in 1917, Solomon Volkov effortlessly unwinds the twisted
relationship between art and the royal family.
In a sweeping cultural history of Russia from the rise of the house
of Romanov in 1613 to its downfall at the hands of the Bolsheviks
in 1917, Solomon Volkov effortlessly unwinds the twisted
relationship between art and the royal family.
Throughout the Romanov dynasty, Russia’s greatest artists and
thinkers, painters and poets, composers and dancers, served two
masters. Devotion to craft—or principle—could never wholly eclipse
dependence on the tsars. Similarly, consumers of Russian culture
could never respond without political consideration: Volkov
recounts how, at the 1836 premiere of Glinka’s opera
Throughout the Romanov dynasty, Russia’s greatest artists and
thinkers, painters and poets, composers and dancers, served two
masters. Devotion to craft—or principle—could never wholly eclipse
dependence on the tsars. Similarly, consumers of Russian culture
could never respond without political consideration: Volkov
recounts how, at the 1836 premiere of Glinka’s operaA Life for
the Tsar
A Life for
the Tsar, fashionable audiences watched Nicholas I in his
private box to see how they ought to react. He wept, and they wept
accordingly.
, fashionable audiences watched Nicholas I in his
private box to see how they ought to react. He wept, and they wept
accordingly.
In this spellbinding story, we watch the great figures of Russian
history clash. Alexei, father of Peter the Great, befriended the
writer Avvakum only to banish him; the next tsar, Fedor, had
Avvakum burned alive. Using her notorious charms, Catherine the
Great masterfully wielded political control over her culture
industry. For his part, Pushkin became the first favored artist to
resist the tsar’s influence. His poem “To Liberty” is cherished as
a revolutionary work of dissent. But even Pushkin’s genius went
unspared: Alexander tired of the poet’s literary and amorous
freethinking and banished him from St. Petersburg.
In this spellbinding story, we watch the great figures of Russian
history clash. Alexei, father of Peter the Great, befriended the
writer Avvakum only to banish him; the next tsar, Fedor, had
Avvakum burned alive. Using her notorious charms, Catherine the
Great masterfully wielded political control over her culture
industry. For his part, Pushkin became the first favored artist to
resist the tsar’s influence. His poem “To Liberty” is cherished as
a revolutionary work of dissent. But even Pushkin’s genius went
unspared: Alexander tired of the poet’s literary and amorous
freethinking and banished him from St. Petersburg.Romanov Riches
Romanov Riches is a work of epic scale that never sacrifices
individual characters for broader themes. Gogol, Dostoevsky, and
Tolstoy are presented in a devilishly intricate dance with their
royal patrons. A truly essential work for anyone who wants to
understand Russia’s passionate devotion to its most important
artists, it is the prequel to Volkov’s acclaimed work
is a work of epic scale that never sacrifices
individual characters for broader themes. Gogol, Dostoevsky, and
Tolstoy are presented in a devilishly intricate dance with their
royal patrons. A truly essential work for anyone who wants to
understand Russia’s passionate devotion to its most important
artists, it is the prequel to Volkov’s acclaimed workThe
Magical Chorus: A History of Russian Culture from Tolstoy to
Solzhenitsyn
The
Magical Chorus: A History of Russian Culture from Tolstoy to
Solzhenitsyn.
.