In this commentary, the author stresses that reading habits in Russia have changed since the Soviet era, and the more intellectual journals and magazines in particular have lost their importance. Audiences for books and magazines have fragmented, and there are fewer sources of commonly shared information and ideas than was true a few decades ago.…

It is acknowledged that the value of reading has gone down in today's Russian society, and this is rated as unequivocally negative. Instead of "the most well-read country in the world," Russia is now called a "society of TV viewers" by the some observers; it is not a nation of independent thinkers but passive objects of the…

Practically no one will dispute that the future of Russia depends on the successfulness of the multifaceted modernization of Russian society, a task that cannot be confined solely to the socioeconomic sphere. The most fundamental task is that of changing the societal system of values and institutions. If Russia is to modernize successfully, the…

This article recounts the experience of the Regent University Library in planning and implementing a festival of Tolstoy and Russian culture as part of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read initiative. The NEA launched the Big Read in 2006 to counter the alarming decline of literary reading documented in its 2002 report Reading at…

This paper considers the work of the Russian social philosopher and cultural theorist, Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin as a source of understanding for those involved in action learning. Drawing upon data gathered over two years during the evaluation of 20 action learning sets in the north of England, we will seek to work with the ideas of Bakhtin to…

This essay analyzes the ways that Augustus's Res Gestae elaborates on the conditions of imperial rhetoric and power. Augustus's text documents the augmentation of the religious foundations of his power through the redefinition of the concept of authority, auctoritas, and through a vigorous effort to blend civic and religious spaces. The…

Provides a psychohistorical perspective on the Russian poet, Marina Tsvetayeva, who committed suicide in 1941. Offers a critical analysis of Boris Pasternak's (1983) "I Remember: Sketch for an Autobiography" to yield several points to consider in interpreting motives for suicides. (SR)

On 28 November 2006 Russia observes the one-hundredth anniversary of Dmitrii Sergeevich Likhachev. By an edict of President V.V. Putin 2006 has been designated the year of D.S. Likhachev. A scientist of encyclopedic scope and a renowned researcher into Old Russian literature, Academician Likhachev became, starting in the second half of the 1980s,…

Provides examples of Soviet literature which describe the character and everyday life of children during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Includes information on how political and economic realities shape the Soviet character. (JDH)

Annotates 29 English-language books about Russia that are suited for middle and secondary school students. (HTH)

About 75 bibliographic references are provided, dealing chiefly with translation theory and reference books, and arranged by year of publication (1955-1978). (AM)

This essay examines American awareness of Soviet literature and writers and vice versa and discusses problems involved in making Soviet literature available to Americans. Highlights include accessibility through public and private libraries and establishing and publicizing a Soviet writings library collection. Some Soviet publications and…

Describes a successful class in Russian and Soviet literature. (JL)

A special issue devoted to A.S. Puskin, this volume opens with an essay on Puskin's treatment of the theme "Freedom and Law" and proceeds with essays on some of his individual works. These are followed by a bibliography section, an English translation of his "Poltava", and a book review section. (MES)

Provides a history of Leo Tolstoy's writing of children's literature and a bibliography of children's books containing translations of Tolstoy's stories. (DD)