Rather than presenting a conventional chronology of Russian literature, Russian Literature: A Very Short Introduction explores the place and importance in Russian culture of all types of literature. How and when did a Russian national literature come into being? What shaped its creation? How have the Russians regarded their literary language? The book uses the figure of Pushkin--'the Russian Shakespeare'--as a recurring example, as his work influenced every Russian writer who came after him, whether they wrote prose or verse. It furthermore examines why Russian writers are venerated, how they've been interpreted inside Russia and beyond, and the influences of the folk tale tradition, orthodox religion, and the West.

Russian Literature: A Very Short Introduction

Literature & Fiction

Kelly, Catriona

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

Soviet Art House: Lenfilm Studio under Brezhnev

Product Description Its unique ability to sway the masses has led many observers to consider cinema the artform with the greatest political force. The images it produces can bolster leaders or contribute to their undoing. Soviet filmmakers often had to face great obstacles as they struggled to make art in an authoritarian society that put them not only under ideological pressure but also imposed rigid economic constraints on the industry. But while the Brezhnev era of Soviet filmmaking is often depicted as a period of great repression, Soviet Art House reveals that the films made at the prestigious Lenfilm studio in this period were far more imaginative than is usually suspected.In this pioneering study of a Soviet film studio, author Catriona Kelly delves into previously unpublished archival documents and interviews, memoirs, and the films themselves to illuminate the ideological, economic, and aesthetic dimensions of filmmaking in the Brezhnev era. She argues that especially the young filmmakers who joined the studio after its restructuring in 1961 revitalized its output and helped establish Leningrad as a leading center of oppositional art. This unique insight into Soviet film production shows not only the inner workings of Soviet institutions before the system collapsed but also traces how filmmakers tirelessly dodged and negotiated contradictory demands to create sophisticated and highly original movies. Review "In Soviet Art House, Kelly takes a studio-centric approach to Soviet film history, looking at the Lenfilm Studio from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. This studio view provides an opportunity to look beyond common ways in which film historians viewed the Brezhnev years." -- A. H. Chapman, CHOICE"This deeply researched work is an extraordinarily innovative contribution to Soviet film studies. Kelly not only provides us with a comprehensive study of a vitally important film studio, one crucial to Soviet cultural endeavors, or pretensions, she also demonstrates how novel many of their offerings were." -- Steven A. Usitalo, Slavonic and East European Review "There is nothing more difficult than writing about a past that has yet to become history. This richly-researched and truly outstanding book, written with zest and elegance, tells the story of the Lenfilm studio. Through art house Soviet cinema it immerses us in the Brezhnev era, as it opens up the door to the world of Soviet sensitivity and imagination to allow us to understand how the Soviet era was exhausted and why it ended." -- Evgeny Dobrenko, the author of Late Stalinism: The Aesthetics of Politics"In the years of Stagnation, Lenfilm studio was one of the symbols of artistic freedom in the USSR - with reservations, of course. Yet, there has not been a scholarly monograph dedicated to this seminal page in the history of Soviet culture - neither in Russia, nor outside the country. Catriona Kelly's book fills this deplorable gap. But, as a genuine work of history, it covers much more than that. It is a meticulous and pioneering study of the mechanics of Soviet film production, of the cultural politics in the murky period that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Union. But first and foremost, it is a tribute to some of the best films ever produced in one of the leading filmmaking countries, and to the filmmakers with their inevitably dramatic biographies." -- Peter Bagrov, George Eastman Museum"To embark on making an art house movie under Brezhnev, the author shows with the clarity and insight of someone who spent years on studying the Lenfilm studio papers, was tantamount to submitting one's creative will to a variety of whims and whips―institutional and ideological. Every chapter in Kelly's book devoted to this or that art film reads like a perilous journey that ends in a miraculous survival." -- Yuri Tsivian, University of Chicago About the Author Catriona Kelly is Professor of Russian at the University of Oxford and a leading

Computers & Technology

Networking & Cloud Computing

Its unique ability to sway the masses has led many observers to consider cinema the artform with the greatest political force. The images it produces can bolster leaders or contribute to their undoing. Soviet filmmakers often had to face great obstacles as they struggled to make art in anauthoritarian society that put them not only under ideological pressure but also imposed rigid economic constraints on the industry. But while the Brezhnev era of Soviet filmmaking is often depicted as a period of great repression, Soviet Art House reveals that the films made at the prestigiousLenfilm studio in this period were far more imaginative than is usually suspected.In this pioneering study of a Soviet film studio, author Catriona Kelly delves into previously unpublished archival documents and interviews, memoirs, and the films themselves to illuminate the ideological, economic, and aesthetic dimensions of filmmaking in the Brezhnev era. She argues thatespecially the young filmmakers who joined the studio after its restructuring in 1961 revitalized its output and helped establish Leningrad as a leading center of oppositional art. This unique insight into Soviet film production shows not only the inner workings of Soviet institutions before thesystem collapsed but also traces how filmmakers tirelessly dodged and negotiated contradictory demands to create sophisticated and highly original movies.

Russian women's writing is now attracting enormous interest both in the West and in Russia itself. This is the first one-volume history of the subject to appear in any language in modern times. Written from a bold feminist perspective, the book combines a broad historical survey with close textual analysis. Sections on women's writing in the periods 1820-1880, 1881-1917, 1917-1954, and 1953-1992 are followed by essays on individual writers. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including rare literary journals and almanacs, Catriona Kelly's account shows familiar figures such as Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, and Tolstoya in a radical new context and brings to light a colorful gallery of fascinating but neglected writers including Elena Gan, Nadezhda Teffi, Natalya Baranskaya, and Nina Sadur. This is an indispensable source for readers and students of women's writing, and for all those concerned with women's history, the history of feminism, and Russian literature in general.

A History of Russian Women's Writing, 1820-1992

Russian women's writing is now attracting enormous interest both in the West and in Russia itself. This is the first one-volume history of the subject to appear in any language in modern times. Written from a bold feminist perspective, the book combines a broad historical survey with close textual analysis. Sections on women's writing in the periods 1820-1880, 1881-1917, 1917-1954, and 1953-1992 are followed by essays on individual writers. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including rare literary journals and almanacs, Catriona Kelly's account shows familiar figures such as Akhmatova, Tsevtaeva, and Tolstaya in a radical new context and brings to light a colorful gallery of fascinating but neglected writers including Elena Gan, Nadezhda Teffi, Natalya Baranskaya, and Nina Sadur. The text is supported by generous quotations from the Russian, all accompanied by English translations.

A History of Russian Women's Writing 1820-1992

Clarendon Press

Refining Russia is a pioneering study of the development of advice literature ("how-to" books such as etiquette manuals and brochures on hygiene) in Russia, and of its reception and wider cultural meaning. An absorbing and original exercise in "history of the book," it is also a major contribution to the understanding of Russia's relationship with the West, and of the cultural world inhabited by the Russian intelligentsia.

Refining Russia: Advice Literature, Polite Culture, and Gender from Catherine to Yeltsin

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Beauty, Grooming, & Style

A pioneering history of the experiences of children during Russia’s most disrupted century How a country views its children reveals a great deal about that country. This landmark history of childhood in twentieth-century Russia presents an enthralling and detailed picture of a society where childhood was celebrated everywhere but children’s real needs were often neglected by the state. Catriona Kelly, one of the foremost cultural historians of modern Russia, explores every aspect of children’s lives, including the stresses and joys of ordinary family life, friendships, sports and games, first love, clothing, and schools. She examines the experiences of children in institutions, orphanages, and Stalin’s camps, as well as the impact on their lives of such historical tragedies as revolution, civil and world war, and political purges. Based on unprecedented research in archives, hundreds of interviews, and the study of a huge range of newspapers, books, and pamphlets, the book has an immediacy which is startling. Over 100 illustrations sharpen the focus still more. Kelly weaves together information about the relationships between children and adults, prevailing ideas about childhood, and the actual experiences of children to create an unforgettable account of the intimate workings of Russian and Soviet society.

Children’s World: Growing Up in Russia, 1890-1991

History

Americas

Yale University Press

Fragile, gritty, and vital to an extraordinary degree, St. Petersburg is one of the world’s most alluring cities—a place in which the past is at once ubiquitous and inescapably controversial. Yet outsiders are far more familiar with the city’s pre-1917 and Second World War history than with its recent past. In this beautifully illustrated and highly original book, Catriona Kelly shows how creative engagement with the past has always been fundamental to St. Petersburg’s residents. Weaving together oral history, personal observation, literary and artistic texts, journalism, and archival materials, she traces the at times paradoxical feelings of anxiety and pride that were inspired by living in the city, both when it was socialist Leningrad, and now. Ranging from rubbish dumps to promenades, from the city’s glamorous center to its grimy outskirts, this ambitious book offers a compelling and always unexpected panorama of an extraordinary and elusive place.

St Petersburg: Shadows of the Past

Historical Study & Educational Resources

This collection of eight essays reassess Russian literature, paying particular attention to writings by women and to popular culture, and challenge conventional readings of the Russian "great tradition". The status of the literary canon is questioned and the position of the critic re-evaluated. The radical standpoint of the eight writers takes its orientation in particular from the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin and from western feminism.

Discontinuous Discourses in Modern Russian Literature

Michael Makin, Eds

St.Martin's Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kelly, Catriona. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Kelly, Catriona

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kelly, Catriona. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Russian Literature: A Very Short Introduction

Soviet Art House: Lenfilm Studio under Brezhnev

Soviet Art House: Lenfilm Studio under Brezhnev

A History of Russian Women's Writing, 1820-1992

A History of Russian Women's Writing 1820-1992

Refining Russia: Advice Literature, Polite Culture, and Gender from Catherine to Yeltsin

Children’s World: Growing Up in Russia, 1890-1991

St Petersburg: Shadows of the Past

St Petersburg: Shadows of the Past

Discontinuous Discourses in Modern Russian Literature