'Who are we?' is a question that has haunted Russians for centuries. The crisis of identity that underlies Russia's efforts to answer that question and the country's attempts to grapple with modernity_the invention of an alien civilization_is explored in this timely book. Russia's response to the universal challenge posed by modernization's erosion of community has been to fall back on that most enduring bond of human association_the kinship tie_as Allensworth here defines as nationalism. The author draws on rare Russian sources to explore the various ways nationalists have responded to modernization and to chart a likely course for Russia's future development. From National Bolshevism to Christian nationalism, from Zhirinovskiy to Solzhenitsyn, this study ties the ideas and ideologies of nationalism to the question that produced them and cements their connection to the crisis of modernity.
About the AuthorWayne Allensworth is a Russia analyst at the Foreign Broadcast Information Service.
ReviewsAn excellent analysis of ethnicity and nationalism. * CHOICE *
Allenworth provides a fascinating account of how the process of modernization has affected Russian national identity. * Democratization *
Allensworth is superbly equipped to explain the complexities and nuances of the kaleidoscopic variations of Russian nationalist opinion. -- James George Jatras * Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture *
Book InformationISBN 9780847690039
Author Wayne AllensworthFormat Paperback
Page Count 366
Imprint Rowman & LittlefieldPublisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 472g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 145mm * 20mm