Foundations of Russian Culture

— About the Book —

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.”

— Author Biography —

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.

— Contents —

Foreword

Introduction

Note to the Reader

1. The Cultural Debate in the USSR: A Protest
2. The Dispute Over Culture in the Soviet Union
3. “Culture” in Russian Self-Identity
4. Paradoxes of Russian Cultural Development: Maximalism
5. Paradoxes of Russian Cultural Development: Minimalism
6. Paradoxes of Russian Cultural Development: Utopianism
7. The “Explosion” of Russian Cultural Identity in the Nineteenth Century (1)
8. The “Explosion” of Russian Cultural Identity in the Nineteenth Century (2)
9. The “Explosion” of Russian Cultural Identity in the Nineteenth Century (3)
10. Renunciation of Culture in the Name of Pragmatism
11. Renunciation of Culture in the Name of Religion
12. Renunciation of Culture in the Name of Social Utopia
13. Tolstoy and Culture
14. Dostoevsky and Russian Culture
15. Cultural Identity at “the Beginning of the Century” (1)
16. Cultural Identity at “the Beginning of the Century” (2)
17. Abandonment of the Moral Foundations of Culture
18. The Initial Reaction to the Revolution
19. The Enslavement of Culture
20. Creative Resistance (1)
21. Creative Resistance (2)
22. Creative Resistance (3)
23. The Past and Tradition
24. The West
25. Technology and Science
26. Social Topics
27. Religious Themes
28. At A Crossroads
29. On the Path to Synthesis (1)
30. On the Path to Synthesis (2)
31. Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Notes

Index of Names