Soil and Soul: The Symbolic World of Russianness

by Elena Hellberg-Hirn

Overview

Originally published in 1998, in this book, a number of stereotypes, symbols and signs of Russia, such as the double-headed eagle, the star, bread-and-salt, troika, the Orthodox cross, etc., are presented as a consistent set of metaphors, revealing a symbolic world made by and for the Russians in order to sustain and reinforce their group identity. The Russian language, culture and history form the basic core of the symbolic archive, or thesaurus, of Russianness, from which the necessary images, symbols and signs of identification are provided to manifest connection with the sphere of Russian identity. Such symbolism may directly or obliquely refer either to the territory (soil) of Russia, or to the ethnically specific traits of the Russian people (soul). Both soil and soul are emphatically personified in the symbolic image of Holy Russia - Mother Russia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780429640414
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/04/2019
Series:	Routledge Revivals
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Elena Hellberg-Hirn, Professor, Senior Researcher, Academy of Finland, Finland

Table of Contents

Introduction. 1. Symbolic Communication. 2. Territorial Symbolism: The Double-Headed Eagle. 3. Symbols of the Centre. 4. The Tsar: Father to the People. 5. Orthodox Christianity: The Collective Spirit. 6. Mother Russia: Soil and Soul. 7. Ethnic Symbolism: Real Russianness? 8. Russian Stereotypes. 9. Creation of the Nation: A Symbolic Discourse. 10. Understanding Russianness.

Editorial Reviews

Ten essays by a Russian expatriate and teacher of Russian culture explore the intermixing of the symbology of popular, ethnic, and Imperial Russianness with the changing realities of the Russian territorial state. The author explores a variety of terrains including the symbol of the Imperial double-headed eagle as representative of the territorial dimension of the national myth, notions of centrality of power as evoked by the capital city, myths of the image of the leader, the symbolism of icons and other artifacts of the Orthodox Church, the idea of Mother Russia as a culturally constructed female body/territory in need of defense by her sons, and national symbols related to the body (folk dress, food, customs) as constructing ethnic Russianness. While the Soviet mythos is not treated extensively, links are traced from the Russian past through to similar Soviet constructions of Russian symbols. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

’...this courageous and idiosyncratic book will provoke further thought among all readers fascinated by the contradictory nature of Russian nationalism...infectiously lively style and seemingly insatiable inquisitiveness which becomes all the more impressive as the scope of the inquiry widens to cover all key symbols of Russianness.’ IDÄNTUTKIMUS ’...her analysis stands out for the freshness and candor of her approach, for the stimulating way in which she constructs her synthesis ...flashes of brilliance...deserves a wide audience for its sensitive and engaging exploration of Russian national character.’ Slavic Review

From the Publisher