Russian culture?!!!

I really need help with this. In my foriegn culture class I have to do a portfolio on a country and I of course picked Russia.

Some of the questions though can only be answered by those who live there or have traveled there. If you guys could help me I would greatly appreciate it so here goes:


How do people within this culture view themselves?

How is this culture constructed by those who live outside it?

Name 3 things people within the culture you have selected like about themselves.

Name 3 things people within the culture you have selected do not like about themselves.

How does gender affect one’s definition of culture?

Who gets to define the national culture ? Individuals, scholars or hegemonic groups like the nation state? If yes, how?


If anyone could answer any of these I would love that!

Thankyou so much
Alea

This might help: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=15582

What a strange set of questions! I am guessing that you are still at school, probably in the United States. I am from a neigbhbouring country of Russia and I have a reasonably good knowledge about the country. Since no Russian person answered, I decided to answer -- they'll have to correct me if they disagree.

You need to do some research yourself so you can back this up with facts if your teacher asks you. If you are at college then these answers are not sufficiently high level and you really should do your own research anyway.


How do people within this culture view themselves?
Russia has undergone dramatic changes several times over the last century and even during the last couple of decades. For this reason no contemporary strong national identity has had a chance to get firmly established.

One should also bear in mind that Russia is a federation which consists of many republics and people who are not ethnically Russian. The inhabitants of these regions have their own cultures. The Tatars, Tuvans and Kalmyks are examples of such people.

Nationalism and religion are re-awakening in Russia today as people are rediscovering their rich cultural heritage. While some people miss certain aspects of the USSR (of which Russia was the the founding member state) others take an interst in Russian history or have become active in the Russian Orthodox church.

Some Russian works of art give the impression that Russia views itself as a tormented country were regular people seek happiness in the simple things in life; nature, love and good food.

How is this culture constructed by those who live outside it?
Russian culture is not as well known outside of the Russian speaking world as perhaps it ought to be. On the whole, though, Russia is known for extraordinary quality of performing arts such as theatre, ballet and opera. The country also has one of the greatest literary traditions in the world, and is known for authors such as P. Dostoyevsky, L. Tolstoy and M. Gorky. In the area of music P. Tchaikovsky and D. Shostakovitch are well known composers both inside and outside of Russia.

The Russians value classical culture very highly and are known across Europe as lovers of poetry and avid readers. In parts of the Western world, Russia's lack of a democratic cultural tradition (according to the Western definition) has lead to negative media reports in Western media about such areas as human rights and freedom of speech in Russia.

Name 3 things people within the culture you have selected like about themselves.
1) They are extremely well read and often very intellectual.
2) They are down-to-earth and unpretentious for the most part,
3) They have been victorious in many wars where they had to defend their own and other countries against outside aggression at very high cost in human lives.

Name 3 things people within the culture you have selected do not like about themselves.
1) There is a terrible problem with alcoholism and binge drinking among Russian people.
2) There is a lot of corruption in Russian society at the moment
3) Some Russians are lazy and work without sufficient focus on the quality of their work.

How does gender affect one’s definition of culture?
[I don't know enough about gender differences in Russia to answer this, however I am not aware that Russia should be different than other European countries when it comes to gender differences. Probably this question is more relevant to non-European countries.]

Who gets to define the national culture ? Individuals, scholars or hegemonic groups like the nation state? If yes, how?
During the USSR era the Soviet state (representing the people of Russia and the other Soviet republics) decided what the national culture should be. They did this with the help of scholars that had a socialist view of the world, since this was the political philosphy of the USSR. Certain aspects of the culture was supressed during this era, such as practicing the Russian Orthodox religion or creating art that was anti-socialist. During this era certain artists were promoted and others were discouraged and did not get an opportunity to perform to large audiences. Straightforward art that showed regular Soviet people in realistic situations was the most favoured type of art, since it corresponded to the ideals of socialism. Russian culture is still shaped to some degree by the legacy of this era.

In modern Russia however, culture works in the same way as in any other modern country with culture developing to fit peoples taste, and peoples taste changing according to what new culture is created by active artists. Russia is currently experiencing a cultural renaissance in all areas of the arts and has an burstling art scene that any art lover ought to be following.

Thankyou very much

All of this helps. Yes I am in college and some of these questions are ones in which I needed someone thats knows a lot about Russia. Which here in America or at least my part their aren't many Russians walking by that I could ask. So thankyou this really does help.