Understanding Russia: A Cultural History

As you start your journey into the heart of Russian history and culture, consider several themes you'll encounter throughout these lectures. Among them: the enormity of Russia's geography, its desire for power, and its search for an organic cultural identity. Then, explore the beginnings of Russia in the land known as Rus'.

For better and worse, Ivan the Terrible's reign has become a cultural and historical symbol of Russian leadership. Was he really terrible - or just awe-inspiring? How did he use cultural symbols to create a spectacle of autocracy? And to what extent did he set the standard for subsequent centuries of Russian leadership?

In this lecture, examine the fascinating relationship between the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church. Along the way, you'll assess how religion, as practiced by the Russian masses, changed church institutions (and how the Russian state responded in turn) and the extraordinary influence of the Russian church on state culture.

What makes the Russian ruler Peter deserving of the title "great"? The answer lies in looking at how he transformed a minor power on the periphery of Europe into a formidable empire, how he embraced Western culture, and how he spearheaded transformations (including calendar reforms) to create a new European capital.

Modern Russian culture was born in the city of St. Petersburg, built on the shores of the Gulf of Finland in the early 18th century. It's here where you'll witness the dawning of the Russian Elizabethan Age: a time of extravagance and cultural energy that produced wonders in everything from architecture to opera.

The political alliance the Russian nobility forged with the Romanov regime facilitated Russian expansion - but at tremendous cost to the Russian masses. Here, Professor Hartnett explores some of the many fissures in the tsarist system that led to popular resentment of the Russian nobility and made the country ripe for revolution.

Russian popular culture, produced by the masses of uneducated peasants, can be described as a culture of sentimentality rooted in religious devotion and the agricultural calendar. Here, explore everything from superstitions and folk tales and Stenka Razin's "myth of rebellion" to the popularity of Russian baths (banya), vodka, and nesting dolls (matryoshkas).

In this lecture, explore the powerful legacy of Catherine the Great, who would extend the empire westward and accomplish what even Peter the Great had been unable to do: establish Russian dominance of the southern regions. You'll also learn how Catherine fueled Enlightenment-inspired developments in politics, architecture, and more.

To understand the poet Alexander Pushkin's literary significance, you must understand the Russia in which he lived. Here, explore how Pushkin (today recognized as Russia's greatest poet) intersected with significant events, trends, and individuals, and how he created works including the novel "Eugene Onegin" and the poem "The Bronze Horseman."

Focus on the reign of Alexander II, who ruled Russia from 1855 to 1881. Central to this lecture are three questions: Why did this promising reign end so violently? Did Alexander II shape developments in literature and culture? How could Russia's last great tsar inaugurate a violent confrontation between the state and its people?

Dive into the age of artistic realism, whose artists are among the most celebrated in all of Russian culture. As you meet composers like Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, writers like Ivan Turgenev, and painters like Ilya Repin, you'll learn how artists found their muse in the history and traditions of Russia.

By the end of the 19th century, Russian artists were helping to make Russian culture among the most exceptional in the world. Here, take a closer look at the cheeky apathy of Anton Chekhov's plays, the Bolshoi Theater and the Ballets Russes, decorative arts from the House of Faberge, and more.

Chart the tsars' development of a grand Eurasian empire. You'll consider the commonalities Russian colonizers shared with their Western counterparts; explore incursions into Alaska and Siberia; examine the Napoleonic and Russo-Turkish wars; and investigate the policy of "Russification," designed to make the empire's European areas "more Russian."

Get the real story behind the Romanov dynasty, from its rise to power in 1613 to its bloody end in 1917 - a tale filled with adventure, intrigue, romance, and heartbreak. It was this period that saw the Decembrist revolution, the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, and the machinations of the notorious Grigori Rasputin.

On October 26, 1917, a new era in Russian history began. In the first of two lectures on the October Revolution, explore the events that led up to this epoch-making moment, including the devastation of World War I, the repressive rule of Tsar Nicholas II, and the ideas of Vladimir Lenin.

Examine the Bolshevik seizure of power during the October Revolution and its immediate aftermath. You'll explore the Bolsheviks' attempt to implement a utopian vision through the barrel of a gun, and you'll also investigate how the revolution created a system where violence was a typical tool of statecraft.

Professor Hartnett reveals how Lenin and the Communist Party aimed to win the hearts and minds of the Soviet people through a cultural battle fought on every possible front. See how this battle was won through a militarized economy, propaganda radio, the renaming of streets, and the "secular sainthood" of Lenin.

The Russian Revolution wasn't just about changing politics. The Bolsheviks also attacked Russia's traditional religious, sexual, and social norms. Here, examine how the Soviets built a new proletarian culture that had powerful ramifications for education, women, religion, folk songs - and even cinema.

Stalin and his cadre aspired to transform everyday Russian life (byt) in ways that brought forth such horrors as collectivization and the gulags. But, as you'll learn, this was also a period where the creative work and cultural influence of writers, composers, and painters were suppressed by the terrifying mandates of Socialist Realism.

By the time World War II ended, the Soviets would lose 27 million men, women, and children from a total population of 200 million. In this lecture, examine Soviet life during the Great Patriotic War and investigate how culture (including poetry and film) was used in service of the war effort.

Nikita Khrushchev emerged from the power struggles after Stalin's death with a daring denunciation of the dictator's cult of terror and personality. As you examine Khrushchev's liberalization of culture, you'll also explore its limits, including the continuation of anti-Semitism from the Stalin era, embraced under the guise of "anti-cosmopolitanism."

What was everyday Soviet life like during the Khrushchev and Brezhnev periods? How and where did people live? How did they spend their leisure time? Answers to these and other questions reveal the degree to which politics affected even seemingly apolitical areas of life.

In this lecture, explore the culture of intellectual dissent in Russian history. Professor Hartnett reveals how Russia's intellectuals and artists (including writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn and nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov) played a unique, important role in challenging the status quo of autocratic rule - often at the expense of their freedom.

On December 25, 1991, the Soviet Union came to an end. Follow the road that led to this moment under the policies of perestroika (restructuring the centrally planned economy) and glasnost (removing rigid state censorship). Then, conclude with a look at the rise of a new popular leader: Vladimir Putin.