1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910817311503321

Titolo

The Europeanized elite in Russia, 1762-1825 : public role and subjective self / / edited by Andreas Schonle, Andrei Zorin and Alexei Evstratov

Pubbl/distr/stampa

DeKalb, Illinois : , : NIU Press, , [2016]

©2016

ISBN

1-5017-5772-5

1-60909-207-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource

Collana

NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies

Disciplina

305.520947

Soggetti

Elite (Social sciences) - Russia - History - 18th century

Russia Social conditions 18th century

Russia Social conditions 19th century

Russia Relations Europe

Europe Relations Russia

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Illustrations -- Abbreviations -- Note on Transliteration and Dates -- INTRODUCTION -- 1 INTERNALIZING PUBLIC ROLES -- From Passions to Ambitions -- Curiosity, Utility, Pleasure -- 2 THE COURT AND THE FAMILY -- Dramatic Conflicts and Social Performance at the Russian Court in the 1760s -- Performing Womanhood in Eighteenth-Century Russia -- 3 THE DOMESTIC ECONOMY -- The Practice of Personal Finance and the Problem of Debt among the Noble Elite in Eighteenth-Century Russia -- Self-fashioning, Estate Design, and Agricultural Improvement -- 4 OFFICERS OFF THE BATTLEFIELD -- Warriors in Peace -- The Political Language of the Europeanized Military Elite in the Early Nineteenth Century -- 5 ALTERNATIVE SOCIABILITIES AND SPIRITUALITIES -- The Emotional Culture of Moscow Rosicrucians -- The Moscow English Club and the Public Sphere in Early Nineteenth-Century Russia -- 6 EXPERIENCING THE OTHER -- Russian Prince vs. "German Swine" -- Between Friends, the Coachman -- 7 THE RADICAL BIFURCATION --



The Instability of Time and Plurality of Selves at Court and in Society -- Sentimental Piety and Orthodox Asceticism -- CONCLUSION -- Bibliography -- Contributors -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

This illuminating volume provides a new understanding of the subjective identity and public roles of Russia's Europeanized elite between the years of 1762 and 1825. Through a series of rich case studies, the editors reconstruct the social group's worldview, complex identities, conflicting loyalties, and evolving habits. The studies explore the institutions that shaped these nobles, their attitude to state service, the changing patterns of their family life, their emotional world, religious beliefs, and sense of time.The creation of a Europeanized elite in Russia was a state-initiated project that aimed to overcome the presumed "backwardness" of the country. The evolution of this social group in its relations to political authority provides insight into the fraught identity of a country developing on the geopolitical periphery of Europe. In contrast to postcolonial studies that explore the imposition of political, social, and cultural structures on colonized societies, this multidisciplinary volume explores the patterns of behavior and emotion that emerge from the processes of self-Europeanization. The Europeanized Elite in Russia, 1762–1825, will appeal to scholars and general readers interested in Russian history and culture, particularly in light of current political debates about globalization and widening social inequality in Europe.