Staging the Absolute argues that an array of practices and beliefs came together to define an essential aspect of Russian and Soviet culture in the twentieth century: the persistent desire to interrupt - or disrupt - history. Drawing on sources that define the nature of public rituals, the book reveals the pervasive presence of the impulse to impede history in Russia's modern era and the realization of the idea in the form of the Stalinist show trials of the 1930s.

Thomas Seifrid analyses Soviet festivals, public displays of agitational propaganda, and urban planning, together with such modernist precursors as fin-de-siecle and early twentieth-century projects for reviving the theatre, modernist adaptations of puppet theatre, the Faust legend and its vogue in early twentieth-century Russia, and the nineteenth-century panorama. The book reveals that what binds these otherwise disparate phenomena together is a shared impatience with history and a corresponding desire to appropriate urban space. Illuminating the deeper meanings in these revived archaic forms, Staging the Absolute shows how pervasive the interest in disrupting history was in the Russian modern era.

About the Author
Thomas Seifrid is a professor of Slavic languages and literatures at the University of Southern California.

Reviews
"With an eloquent argument that reads familiar texts in a fresh light and nimbly crosses various media and disciplines, as well as various time periods, this book is a magnificent achievement that rethinks the Russian and Soviet early twentieth century." -- Alisa Ballard Lin * The Russian Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9781487551803
Author Thomas Seifrid
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint University of Toronto Press
Publisher University of Toronto Press
Weight(grams) 510g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 159mm * 20mm