Russian Culture [Hardcover]

This volume brings together two classic works on the culture of the Russian people which have been long out of print. Gorer'sGreat Russian Cultureand Mead'sSoviet Attitudes towards Authority: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Problems of Soviet Characterwere among the first attempts by anthropologists to analyze Russian society.

They were influential both for several generations of anthropologists and in shaping American governmental attitudes toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War period. Additionally they offer fascinating insights into the early anthropological use of psychological data to analyze cultural patterns. Read as part of the history of the anthropology of complex contemporary societies, they are as fascinating for their more questionable conclusions as for their accurate characterizations of Russian life.

Penetrating Views of Russian Culture

Introduction:Russian Culture in the 20th Century
Sergei Arutiunov

The People of Great Russia

INTRODUCTION and INTRODUCTION1961
Geoffrey Gorer

RUSSIAN CAMERA OBSCURA
Ten Sketches of Russian Peasant Life(19161918)
John Rickman

• Iron
• Snow
• Placenta Praevia
• The Apology
• The Threat
• The Bridal Dress
• Police
• Peasant Officers
• A Political Episode
• Moujiks want Glasses

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GREAT RUSSIANS
Geoffrey Gorrer

• Childhood Training
• Character Developments
• The Enemy and Hate
• The Leader, Love, and Truth
• Conclusions

APPENDICES
Appendix I:Development of the Swaddling Hypotheses
Geoffrey Gorer

Appendix II:A Note on the Swaddling Hypotheses
John Rickman