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Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

Orlando Figes

Paperback | Pages: 729 pages

Rating: 4.19 | 2923 Users | 246 Reviews

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Original Title:	Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
ISBN:	0312421958 (ISBN13: 9780312421953)
Edition Language:	English
Literary Awards:	Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction Nominee (2003)

Narrative Concering Books Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

History on a grand scale-an enchanting masterpiece that explores the making of one of the world's most vibrant civilizations

A People's Tragedy, wrote Eric Hobsbawm, did "more to help us understand the Russian Revolution than any other book I know." Now, in Natasha's Dance, internationally renowned historian Orlando Figes does the same for Russian culture, summoning the myriad elements that formed a nation and held it together.

Beginning in the eighteenth century with the building of St. Petersburg-a "window on the West"-and culminating with the challenges posed to Russian identity by the Soviet regime, Figes examines how writers, artists, and musicians grappled with the idea of Russia itself-its character, spiritual essence, and destiny. He skillfully interweaves the great works-by Dostoevsky, Stravinsky, and Chagall-with folk embroidery, peasant songs, religious icons, and all the customs of daily life, from food and drink to bathing habits to beliefs about the spirit world. Figes's characters range high and low: the revered Tolstoy, who left his deathbed to search for the Kingdom of God, as well as the serf girl Praskovya, who became Russian opera's first superstar and shocked society by becoming her owner's wife.

Like the European-schooled countess Natasha performing an impromptu folk dance in Tolstoy's War and Peace, the spirit of "Russianness" is revealed by Figes as rich and uplifting, complex and contradictory-a powerful force that unified a vast country and proved more lasting than any Russian ruler or state.

Point About Books Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

Title	:	Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Author	:	Orlando Figes
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 729 pages
Published	:	October 17th 2003 by Picador USA (first published 2002)
Categories	:	History. Cultural. Russia. Nonfiction. Russian History. Art. European History

Rating About Books Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

Ratings: 4.19 From 2923 Users | 246 Reviews

Notice About Books Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

Does what it says on the tin.Broken down into thematic sections, Figes offers analysis of the roles Europe and Asia played in the Russian imagination and world view, social and architectural differences between St. Petersburg and Moscow, peasant traditions and their influence on high culture, the love affair and dismal breakup between the avant garde and the Soviet state, and many more aspects of Russia's diverse cultural history, often following key players' biographical details to illustrate

As a schoolboy I wrote to Orlando Figes as part of the project to write my graduation paper. It was 1998 and the questions I asked did not make much sense, but ask I did before getting on with writing my piece. I had read the recently published 'A People's Tragedy' and Figes could do no wrong in my eyes.Orlando Figes is an interesting writer, and one who should take a lot of credit for his part in steering mass-published Russian history away from the cover-all texts of a decade ago (including

I'm tempted to say that this is a great book because like Russian art it has a soul, but that sounds presumptuous since I've not an expert on any Russian art and I've never been to Russia. But I've been a fan of Russian literature--especially the great novels of the 19th century, and of Russian music and particularly of the Russian ballet and its offshoots in the West. The book starts with an episode from War and Peace in which Natasha and her brother visit an retired army officer (their uncle)

Figes has gathered a lot of cultural information and organized it into one book, which is very helpful if you want to get a general review of Russia's culture without referring to multiple sources. Some threads that go through the entire book and tie the narrative together, such as the history of the Fountain House in St. Petersburg, almost give you an impression that you are reading fiction. However, some of the information that Figes offers is incorrect. For example, when talking about

'Natasha's Dance' has provided me a greater understanding of the Russian arts and culture that was previously lacking. I am not so naive as to think that reading a single book provides a perfect insight into what it is to be Russian. Moreover, this book adds depth to the otherwise one-dimensional events that are depicted in history books. I think that this quote (at the end of the book) from the Russian composer Stravinsky says a great deal:The smell of the Russian earth is different, and such

This book is much better than the sum of its parts. For the period from roughly 1760 to 1960 it contains histories of Russian literature, painting, ballet and classical music. There are weaknesses in all four areas but together they make a compelling narrative. According to Figes Russia indeed has a soul at least from the perspective of high art . The great tragedy of the communist political experiment was that it destroyed the cultural traditions in these areas drove the artists into

Opening: On a misty spring morning in 1703 a dozen Russian horsemen rode across the bleak and barren marshlands where the Neva river runs into the Baltic Sea. They were looking for a site to build a fort against the Swedes, then at war with Russia, and the owners of these long abandoned swamps.Even though the author is a sock puppet*, I still need to read this book.*http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/bo... 2015 Reboot as I didn't bookmark where I was up to the last time this was picked up.