1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910821550803321

Autore

Wortman Richard

Titolo

The power of language and rhetoric in Russian political history : charismatic words from the 18th to the 21st centuries / / Richard S. Wortman

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London, England : , : Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, , 2020

London, England : , : Bloomsbury Publishing, , 2020

ISBN

1-350-04069-X

1-350-04067-3

1-350-04068-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (246 pages)

Disciplina

320.94701/4

Soggetti

Language and history

European history

Russia History 1613-1917 Historiography

Soviet Union Historiography

Russia (Federation) History 1991- Historiography

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-233) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Author's Preface and Acknowledgements -- 1. Introduction; Kul'turnost' and the Rhetoric of Proper Conduct -- 2. The Rhetoric of Consent: Radost', Liubov', Umilenie and Vostorg -- 3. Lichnost' and the Rhetoric of Duty: The Ethos of Service -- 4. Lichnost' and the Rhetoric of Duty: In Quest of New Ideals -- 5. Pravda and the Rhetoric of Moral Transcendence -- 6. Tselost' (Geographical Integrity) in the Rhetoric of the Russian State -- Bibliography.

Sommario/riassunto

This book examines the rhetorical force of certain key words in the discourses of Russian state, political thought, and literature. It shows how terms for cultured conduct (kul'turnost'), political affection (love, liubov', joy-radost' etc.), personhood (lichnost'), truth (pravda) and geographical integrity (tsel'nost') assumed almost sacral meaning. It considers how these terms took on a life of their own, imposing the designs of the Russian state and defining the hopes of educated society



in the process. By exploring the usage of these words in a wide range of texts, Richard Wortman provides glimpses into the ideas and feelings of leading figures and thinkers in Russian history, from Peter the Great to Alexander Herzen and Nicholas Berdiaev, as well as writers like Mikhail Lermontov, Ivan Turgenev, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, giving a sense of the intellectual and emotional universe they inhabited. The Power of Language and Rhetoric in Russian Political History provides both students and scholars with a specific focus through which to approach Russian culture and history. This book is essential reading for students of Russian government, thought, literature and political action.--