Philosophical and Cultural Interpretations of Russian Modernisation
In this book the expert international contributors attempt to answer questions such as: How far is it possible to attribute change in contemporary Russia to cultural factors? How does the process of change in cultural institutions reflect the general development of Russia? Are there certain philosophical ideas that explain the Russian interpretation of a modern society?
This edited volume elaborates on processes of Russian modernisation regarding a wide range of factors, including: the use of modern technology; elements of civil society; a reliable legal system; high levels of education; equality among citizens; and freedom of speech, religion, and trade. The main focus is on the Putin era but historical backgrounds are also discussed, adding context. The chapters cover a wide spectrum of research fields from philosophy and political ideas to gender issues, language, the education system, and the position of music as a constituent of modern identity.
Throughout the book the chapters are written so as to introduce experts from other fields to new perspectives on Russian modernisation and de-modernisation processes. It will be of great interest to postgraduates and scholars in philosophy, politics, IR, music and cultural studies, and, of course, Russian studies.
Katja Lehtisaari is a postdoctoral researcher at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland. She holds a Doctor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Tampere and she has published articles and co-authored or edited books on, for example, the development of journalism, the press market structures and media convergence, focusing mainly on Russia and Finland. She is currently also involved in research on the role of media in civic unity and unrest in Central Asia. Lehtisaari is the editor-in-chief of Idntutkimus, The Finnish Review of East European Studies.
Arto Mustajoki is Professor of Russian language and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He has published books and articles in Russian, English and Finnish on functional syntax, corpus linguistics, linguistic theory, miscommunication, Russian mentality, research ethics and science policy. A recent co-edited book was entitled Understanding Russianness (Routledge, 2012).
Studies in Contemporary Russia
Series Editor: Markku Kivinen
Studies in Contemporary Russia is a series of cutting-edge, contemporary studies. These monographs, joint publications and edited volumes branch out into various disciplines, innovatively combining research methods and theories to approach the core questions of Russian modernisation: How do the dynamics of resources and rules affect the Russian economy and what are the prospects and needs of diversification? What is the impact of the changing state-society relationship? How does the emerging welfare regime work? What is the role of Russia in contemporary international relations? How should we understand the present Russian political system? What is the philosophical background of modernisation as a whole and its Russian version in particular?
The variety of opinions on these issues is vast. Some see increasingly less difference between contemporary Russia and the Soviet Union while at the other extreme, prominent experts regard Russia as a more or less normal European state. At the same time new variants of modernisation are espoused as a result of Russian membership in the global BRICS powers. Combining aspects of Western and Soviet modernisation with some anti-modern or traditional tendencies the Russian case is ideal for probing deeper into the evolving nature of modernisation. Which of the available courses Russia will follow remains an open question, but these trajectories provide the alternatives available for discussion in this groundbreaking and authoritative series.
The editor and the editorial board of the series represent the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian Studies: Choices of Russian Modernisation.
For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/series/ASHSER-1421.
Paganism, Traditionalism, Nationalism
Kaarina Aitamurto
Authoritarian Modernization in Russia
Ideas, Institutions, and Policies
Vladimir Gelman
Philosophical and Cultural Interpretations of Russian Modernisation
Edited by Katja Lehtisaari and Arto Mustajoki
The Other Russia
Local Experience and Societal Change
Leo Granberg and Ann-Mari Stre
First published 2017
by Routledge
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2017 selection and editorial material, Katja Lehtisaari and Arto Mustajoki; individual chapters, the contributors.
The right of Katja Lehtisaari and Arto Mustajoki to be identified as authors of the editorial material, and of the individual authors as authors of their contributions, has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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ISBN: 978-1-4724-7212-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-60038-3 (ebk)
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Contents
KATJA LEHTISAARI AND ARTO MUSTAJOKI
TATIANA LARINA, ARTO MUSTAJOKI AND EKATERINA PROTASSOVA
VESA OITTINEN
MIKHAIL MASLOVSKII
KRE JOHAN MJR
ELINA KAHLA
JUTTA SCHERRER
HANNA-MAARIA LUOTO
YURY ZARETSKIY
ELENA MININA
ELINA VILJANEN
NADEZHDA LEBEDEVA
KIRSTI EKONEN AND IRINA IUKINA
KATJA LEHTISAARI
VEERA LAINE AND ARTO MUSTAJOKI
ARTO MUSTAJOKI AND KATJA LEHTISAARI
Kirsti Ekonen (19632016) received a PhD in Russian cultural studies at the University of Tampere in 2009. She worked and taught in several universities in Finland, lately at the Department of History, Culture and Arts at the University of Turku. She was a specialist in Russian Symbolism, Russian womens writing, and cultural contacts between Finland and Russia and published widely in Russian, Finnish, and English. She was the author of the book Tvorets, subekt, zhenshchina (Creator, Subject, Woman, Moscow, NLO, 2011), co-edited and co-authored the first Finnish-language history of Russian literature (
