Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

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Dediğim gibi salt bilgi içerikli olmasından dolayı kitap hakkındaki düşüncelerimi bölümler halinde spoiler korkusu olmadan vermek istiyorum, bütününe yorum yapmak zor çünkü bölümden bölüme yazarın tutumunun değiştiğini fark ettim. Rejim karşıtı bu yazarları savunayım derken Thomas Mann gibi yazarlara rejime destek verdiği için inceden dokundurmayım anlayışı ise oldukça sırıtıyor. Furthermore, the descriptions of old Moscow and its "Asiatic" and hedonistic customs, compared with formal St Petersburg, are really interesting. L’odore della terra russa è diverso, e queste sono cose che non si possono dimenticare… Un uomo ha un solo luogo di nascita, una sola patria, un solo paese – può avere un solo paese – e il luogo di nascita è il fattore più importante della sua vita. From Bulgakov to Dostoevsky, Tolstoy to Nabokov, I've enjoyed a lot of works that came out of Russia both before and after the rise of the Soviet Union.

He is at this best, of course, talking about the 18th and 19th centuries, which duly take up 2/3 of the book.The title of this masterly history comes from War and Peace, when the aristocratic heroine, Natasha Rostova, finds herself intuitively picking up the rhythm of a peasant dance . Even in Stalin's USSR there were opportunities for factory labourers to denounce local party bosses who failed to live up to communist ideology. The organization was sort of like music: a theme and elaboration, with repetitions so the reader doesn't get lost. But I've been a fan of Russian literature--especially the great novels of the 19th century, and of Russian music and particularly of the Russian ballet and its offshoots in the West. As I have said above, the Soviets eventually harked back to the golden age of culture from the mid-late 19th Century.

Between Figes’ sketches of historical and artistic figures, his delightful prose and wry humor, it’s a marvelous exploration of a complex country, culture and people. Tuttavia per chi, come me, si avvicina alla cultura russa per la prima volta, “La Danza di Nataša” rappresenta uno straordinario viaggio alla scoperta di costumi, storie e vicende umane di un popolo che non possiamo esimerci dal vedere come altro, irrimediabilmente fisso in un mito, in una sua esoticità. The complexities of Russian culture are not to be taken on lightly, but Figes successfully guides the reader through the forest of the great Pantheon of music, literature, poetry, art, and much more which form the cultural heritage of the world’s largest country. From the building of St Petersburg and the European looking court of Peter the Great and the 18th Century aristocracy, to the aftermath of the Napoleonic invasion of 1812. Russian tradition, food, music, entertainment, literature and the elusive Russian Soul all follow the church calendar, its many feasts and fasts.

He skillfully interweaves the great works-by Dostoevsky, Stravinsky, and Chagall-with folk embroidery, peasant songs, religious icons, and all the customs of daily life, from food and drink to bathing habits to beliefs about the spirit world. The Russian language is very rich and has many foreign words especially French words because French was the language of the nobility of the elite.