User:Falphin/Russian culture
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The first culture in Russia was the East Slavic culture around the 10th century B.C. Russian culture began to flourish under the Ancient Rus culture which involved the conversion to Orthodox Christianity and the acceptance of Byzantine culture and architecture. The acceptance of Byzantine culture included the adoption of Icon painting. The goal of icon painting is to help people with prayers without idolizing the figure depicted. Around 1890 a new form of art the Russian avant garde took development. The Russian avant garde is a form of modern art however it developed into Soviet art when the government elected to control all art forms.
Russian architecture resembles largely four styles. First, under the Byzantine and Russian Orthodox influence then the Euroepan architecturall style under the Czar Catherine followed by the Soviet architecture which largely focused on military structures and finally modern architecture which has recently taken influence.
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[edit] History of Russian Culture
Russian culture is usually divided into 6 periods The Middle Ages in Russia began with the adoption of Christianity in 989 until the early 19th century when European influence grew substantially. The first period is known as the Culture of Ancient Rus. The Culture of Ancient Rus was heavily influenced by Byzantine religion and architecture. The periods influence is best seen in how it influenced Russian politics. After the infasion of Batu Khan(1237-1240) Russia became an authoritarian state and dropped many of its ties with European countries. This would continue until the October Revolution.
The second period is the Culture of Muscovy which was defined by Ivan and the theme of uniting Russia. This period began in 1480 and lasted 223 years. The periods was known as the Russian Renaissance in which Russian literature flourished. An interest in Russian architecture grew and many of the old monastic schools were being restored and enlargened. Lastly the period saw the largest growth in Russian paintings especially Icon art. The greatest Russian painter of this period was Andrey Rublëv.
The third and fourth periods were largely marked by the increase of European influence and slow decline of the Orthodox Church's which still continues. They begin after the end of the Culture of Muscovy and end after the October Revolution. European influence reached all aspects, including architecture, music, painting, sculpture, literature, dress, food and especially weapons and bureaucracy. These periods lead to the rise and fall of Russia as a great power. The beginning of the next period began with the October Revolution. The Soviet period is marked into 5 periods, the Russian avant garde, the Culture of Communist enthusiasm, Russian emigrant culture, Stalinist period and Post-Stalinist period. The Stalinist period was dominated by Stalin himself in the architecture. The Post-Stalinist period was teh exact opposite with the destruction of his statues and more literary and artistic freedoms. The final period is known as the Post-Soviet period which began in 1991 and continues to this day.
[edit] Art
[edit] Icon painting
Russian icon painting was inherited from the art of the Byzantine churches, and it soon became an offshooot version of the mosaic and fresco traditions. Icon paintings in Russia attempt to help people with their prayers without idolizing the figure in the painting. The most comprehensive collection of Icon art is found at the Tretyakov Gallery.[1]
[edit] Russian avant garde
The Russian avant garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modernist art that flourished in Russia from approximately 1890 to 1930 - although some place its beginning as early as 1850 and its end as late as 1960. The term covers many separate, but inextricably related, art movements that occurred at the time; namely neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism, and futurism. Notable artists from this era include El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Vladimir Tatlin, Alexander Rodchenko, and Marc Chagall amongst others.
[edit] Soviet Art
During the Russian Revolution a movement was initiated to put all arts to service of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The instrument for this was created just days before the October Revolution, known as Proletkult, an abbreviation for "Proletarskie kulturno-prosvetitelnye organizatsii" (Proletarian Cultural and Enlightenment Organizations). A prominent theorist of this movement was Aleksandr Bogdanov. Initially Narkompros (ministry of education), which was also in charge of the arts, supported Proletkult. However the latter sought too much independence from the ruling Communist Party of Bolsheviks, gained negative attitude of Vladimir Lenin, by 1922 declined considerably, and was eventually disbanded in 1932. Soviet art had been dominated by the government and had focused on Lennin and Stalin. After Stalin died the leaders that followed him resented aspects of his rule and allowed more freedom in the arts and by the 1980's government control was nonexistant. Paintings and sculptures of Stalin and Lenin went into sharp decline.
[edit] Architecture
Russian architecture had been influenced predominately by the Russian Orthodox church until World War I. Later by Soviet culture until 1990 and since then western influences. One of Russia's most notable types of architecture are her churches which took style around the 11th century. Foreign architecture didn't begin to influence Russia until the Assumption Cathedrals which were completed by the Bolognese architect Aristotle Fioravanti. Later, European architecture was firmly established in Russia under Czar Catherine. During the 1700s and 1800s the Naryshkin baroque, with many similarties to European baroque style, was popular. Througout the majority of the 1900's Russian architeture was dominated by the Stalinist style. [2]
Some notable Russian buildings include:
- Cathedral of the Assumption, Smolensk
- Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Moscow)
- Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Kaliningrad)
- Cathedral of the Annunciation
- Cathedral of the Archangel
- Cathedral of the Dormition
- Church of the Savior on Blood
- Elokhovo Cathedral
- Saint Basil's Cathedral
- Saint Isaac's Cathedral
- Kolomenskoye
- Catherine Palace
- Grand Kremlin Palace
- Winter Palace
- Simonov Monastery
- Novospassky Monastery
- Moscow State University
- Ostankino Tower
- Triumph-Palace, a modern skyscraper
- White House of Russia
[edit] Cinema
While Russia was involved in filmmaking as early as most of the other nations in the West, it only came into prominence during the 1920s when it explored editing as the primary mode of cinematic expression. Because of the depletion of resources due to World War I, Russian film schools would take copies of D. W. Griffith's Intolerance and re-cut it as an exercise in creating meaning.
"Soviet Cinema" should not be used as a synonym for "Russian Cinema". Although Russian language films predominated, several republics developed lively and unique cinemas, while others did not. Most notable for their republican cinema were Georgia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and, to a lesser degree, Belarus and Moldova.
[edit] Dance
- Main articles: Barynya - Kamarinskaya
[edit] Music of Russia
Russia is a large and culturally diverse country with dozens of ethnic groups; each with their own forms of folk music. During the period of Soviet domination, music was highly scrutinized and kept within certain boundaries of content and innovation. After the fall of the USSR in the early 1990s, western-style rock and pop music became the most popular musical forms in Russia. However, even with the rise of western music, some native artists became quite popular.
[edit] Opera
The first known opera made in Russia was A Life for the Tsar by Mikhail Glinka in 1836. This was followed by sevearal opears like Ruslan and Lyudmila in 1842 and Kamarinskaya in 1848. Russsian opera was originally a combination of Russian folk music and Italian opera. After the October revolution many opera composers left Russia in fears of persecution for Czarist works and/or left because of the Bolshevik restrictions on arts that would soon follow.
[edit] Russian Handicraft
The most well known form of Russian handicraft is the Matryoshka doll. (Cyrillic матрёшка or матрешка). The Matryoshka doll is a Russian nesting doll.
A set of Matryoshka dolls consist of a wodden figure which can be pulled apart to reveal another figure of the sam sort inside. It has in turn another figure insdie, and so on. The number of nested figures is usually six or more. The shape is mostly cylindrical, rounded at the top for the head and tapered towards the bottom, but little else; the dolls have no hands (except those that are painted). The artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be extremely elaborate. The theme is usually peasant girls in traditional dress, but can be almost anything, for instance fairy tales or Soviet leaders.
Other kinds of Russian handicraft include the Gzhel, Khokhloma, and Pisanka. Gzhel is a type of blue-white cermanics. Production began in the city of Gzhel, Russia near the city of Moscow. The Gzhel began in the 18th century not only as useful container but to express folklore sotries. Since then it has grown to include other things the artists wishes to depict.
Other forms of Russian handicraft inlcude:
[edit] Other art related subjects of interest
[edit] Language
Russian is the common official language throughout the Russian Federation understood by 99% of its current inhabitants and widespread in many adjacent areas of Asia and Eastern Europe. National subdivisions of Russia have additional official languages. For more information on individual languages and Russian dialects see:
[edit] Literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union. With the break up of the USSR, different countries and cultures may lay claim to various ex-Soviet writers who wrote in Russian on the basis of birth or of ethnic or cultural associations.
[edit] Formalism
Russian Formalism refers to a number of highly influential Russian and Soviet scholars (Viktor Shklovsky, Yuri Tynianov, Boris Eichenbaum, Roman Jakobson, Grigory Vinokur) who revolutionised literary criticism between 1914 and the 1930s by establishing the specificity and autonomy of poetic language and literature. Russian Formalism exerted a major influence on thinkers such as Mikhail Bakhtin and Yuri Lotman, and on structuralism as a whole. The movement's members are widely considered as the founders of modern literary criticism.
[edit] Poetry
Acmeist poetry-Bogatyr-Bylina-Onegin stanza
Famous poems:
[edit] Cuisine
Russia has a rich culinary history and offers a wide variety of soups, dishes made from fish, cereal based products and drinks. Vegetables, fruit, mushrooms, berries and herbs also play a major part in the Russian diet, while meat does not. Primordial Russian products such as caviar, smetana, buckwheat, rye flour, etc. have had a great influence on world-wide cuisine.
[edit] Martial Arts
Russia has an extensive history of martial arts. Some of its most well known forms include the Kadochnikov's Systema, Retuinskih's System ROSS, Ryabko's Systema, Sambo, and Systema.
[edit] Media
Russian media began largely under the Soviet Union. However during this period all media was controlled by the government and many of the freedoms Western newspapers are used to were denied. At this time Russia's most famous newspaper was Pravda. It was an official publication of the Communist Party between 1918 and 1991. The paper is still in operation in Russia, but it is most famous in Western countries for its pronouncements during the period of the Cold War. A number of other, less famous, newspapers were (and are) also called Pravda.
Russian media has grown extensively since its suppression during the Communist period, although the independence of media outlets such as NTV Russia has been curtailed in recent years.[3] The largest newspaper in Russia currently is Trud, followed by the Russian Pravda. The first English language newspaper in Russia was the Moscow News. (See also Category:Russian media.)
[edit] Religion
Ethnic Russians have predominately followed the Russian Orthodox church. However, during the Soviet era, Atheism was favored by the government which lead to some decline in the church. Other minority ethnic groups of Russia often hold to Islam or Animism. Judaism also has a large presence along with Catholicism, Protestantism and Buddhism.
Related Articles:
- Church of the Last Testament
- History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union
- Islam in Russia
- Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations
- Old believers
- Religion in the Soviet Union
- Russian Orthodox Church
- Russian Catholic Church
[edit] Tourism
Russia has a rich cultural heritage that is embodied in the cities of Moscow with its Tretyakov Gallery, Bolshoi Theatre or the Kremlin's collections, and Saint Petersburg on the river Neva, close to the Baltic Sea, with its famous "white nights", the art collections of the Hermitage Museum and the Russian Museum.
In the countryside there are many little towns with old cloisters and castles. There are cities with their own rich traditions like Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg) on the Baltic Sea coast or Novgorod on Lake Ilmen. Other destinations include: Tver, Vologda, Nizhni Novgorod, Kirov, Ekaterinburg and Rostov.
Famous for tourists, are trips on the big rivers like Volga, Lena or Yenisei. Another popular attraction is a trip on the famous Trans-Siberian railway to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean.
Russia's climate is generally moderate with the exception of the mountain areas or Eastern Russia in Siberia. The coasts of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea offer a climate much like the Mediterranean. A good spot for vacations on the beach is Sochi.
[edit] Humor
Russia gains much of its wit from the great flexibility and richness of the Russian language, allowing for plays on words and unexpected associations. Like with any other nation, its vast scope ranges from lewd jokes and silly wordplay to political satire.
[edit] Anecdote
Russian jokes, the most popular form of Russian humour, are short fictional stories or dialogues with a punch line. Russian joke culture features a series of categories with fixed and highly familiar settings and characters. Surprising effects are achieved by an endless variety of plots. Russians love jokes on topics found everywhere in the world, be it sex, politics, spouse relations or mothers-in-law.
[edit] Chastushka
Chastushka, a type of traditional Russian poetry, is a single quatrain in trochaic tetrameter with an "abab" or "abcb" rhyme scheme. Usually humorous, satirical, or ironic in nature, chastushkas are often put to music as well, usually with balalaika or accordion accompaniment. The rigid, short structure (and to a lesser degree, the type of humor these use) parallels limericks in British culture. The name originates from the Russian word части́ть, meaning "to speak fast."
[edit] See also
[edit] Reference
- Geographia. Russian Art and Architecture. Retrieved on June 9, 2005.(1 and 2)
