Foundations of Russian Culture

A culture that demands only freedom from politics, while rejecting and shunning politics itself, remains inadequate, lifeless, and is ultimately doomed. In its turn, politics that rejects the spiritual oversight of culture inevitably degenerates into tyranny or anarchy, into corruption and mediocrity. Inside this deceptively modest volume will be found a remarkably prescient collection of broadcasts, that are perhaps even more pertinent to the contemporary culture and politics of Russia than they were to the audience within the Soviet Union to whom they were originally addressed. Schmemann presents the complex history of Russia and analyzes trends and tendencies within its culture concisely and simply: showing them to be frequently contradictory and even mutually exclusive. He clarifies the multilayered meaning of "foundations"— its underlying building blocks, the spiritual, the political, the historical, as well as the cultural assets in literature, art, science, and philosophy. In these elements he shows what Russia is grappling with in its struggle to find a synthesis that draws both from its own unique elements and its historical and ongoing interconnectedness with the "West" and the "East."

Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983) was born in Estonia, raised and educated in France. He spent most of his working life in the United States as an Orthodox priest, educator, author and radio broadcaster, serving as Dean of St Vladimir's Seminary in Yonkers, New York from 1962 until his death in 1983. Many of his books remain in print both in English, Russian and other languages. Serge Schmemann is an award winning journalist, writer and broadcaster. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1991 for coverage of the reunification of Germany and an Emmy in 2003 for his work on a television documentary about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was the deputy foreign editor of the New York Times from 1999 to 2001, having previously served as a Times correspondent and bureau chief in Moscow, Bonn and Jerusalem and at the United Nations. From 2003 to 2013 he worked as editorial page editor of The International Herald Tribune in Paris from 2003 to 2013. The Rev. Nathan K. Williams is a professional translator. He studied Russian at Holy Trinity Seminary (Jordanville, NY), where he earned a bachelor’ s degree in Theology, and went on to receive a master’ s degree in Russian from Middlebury College,Vermont. In addition to his work as a translator he serves as an Orthodox priest at St. Alexander Nevsky Church in Gardiner, Maine.

Foreword HTM Foreword by Maria Vasilyeva THE CULTURAL DEBATE IN THE USSR: A PROTEST THE DISPUTE OVER CULTURE IN THE SOVIET UNION “ CULTURE” IN RUSSIAN SELF-IDENTITY PARADOXES OF RUSSIAN CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT MAXIMALISM MINIMALISM UTOPIANISM THE “ EXPLOSION” OF RUSSIAN CULTURAL IDENTITY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Talk 1 Talk 2 Talk 3 RENUNCIATION OF CULTURE IN THE NAME OF PRAGMATISM RENUNCIATION OF CULTURE IN THE NAME OF RELIGION RENUNCIATION OF CULTURE IN THE NAME OF SOCIAL UTOPIA TOLSTOY AND CULTURE DOSTOEVSKY AND RUSSIAN CULTURE CULTURAL IDENTITY AT “ THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY” Talk 1 Talk 2 ABANDONMENT OF THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF CULTURE THE INITIAL REACTION TO THE REVOLUTION THE ENSLAVEMENT OF CULTURE CREATIVE RESISTANCE Talk 1 Talk 2 Talk 3 THE PAST AND TRADITION THE WEST TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE SOCIAL TOPICS RELIGIOUS THEMES AT A CROSSROADS ON THE PATH TO SYNTHESIS Talk 1 Talk 2 CONCLUSION Notes Index of Names