Modernization and Russian Culture

Hi everyone,

Thank you for taking the time to read this article on assessing research papers. The first paper, “Modernization and Russian Culture” by Preeti D. Das, is about how the process of modernization and the culture of Russia has influenced each other. An important part of this process is understanding why we are reading this paper so that we can create a goal for this reading. There are several potential reasons why one might read a paper, from using it to create an argument to just learning more about the topic to requiring sources to teach a class. I do not necessarily know too much about this subject and I am not writing a research paper, so I am using this to learn more about the subject. Whenever you start reading, ask yourself a few questions:

Why am I reading this paper? We are reading this paper to learn about Modernization and Russian culture.

What are some of my biases on the subject? I do not have many expectations of Russian culture, but I have some from watching movies, reading the news, etc. on what I think about when hearing Russia.

Am I even open to learning new information that does not fit my world view? If this information does not fit my expectations, how do I react? I realized from prior research that I am willing to change my position on a subject when provided with more research, but I have also tried to explain research to people that refuse to say something makes sense because it does not work with them morally. If you cannot process this new information with an open mind, you will not be able to fully understand or trust the research. That being said, if this information creates more questions, or you find issues in the research, you should always bring up those questions.

So now to the paper….

Some of the first points that Preeti Das mentions that cultural elements move freely in time and space and that they cannot be restricted by borders (Das, 2018). Das also mentions that there are different approaches to understanding cultural developments, there is a manifestation of incompatible approaches and opinions for looking at the world and the other is that a ‘national ideal’ is important when developing a society (Das, 2018). These are important to ascertain early in the paper because these show where the author is coming from, understanding what the author defines concepts as or what prior knowledge looks like is important to understanding the paper. This will be important to understand both the culture and the process of modernization. Modernization is a process, believed to be associated with the development of the country (Das, 2018). Das discusses how and when modernization started in the West with the Reformation and Renaissance, and the thought processes behind them, Das listed social consciousness and awareness as driving factors.

Das makes sure to specify that modernization in Russia was different, because modernization looks different for every state. Das mentioned people of major influence and events of major influence on Russian modernization (Peter and Catherine the Great). I found it useful to draw out a timeline of events that have affected modernization and Russian culture. Needs of a state are also important to this process, Russia’s need to go to war for territory was embodied in literature by creating heroes that fit a ‘Russian National character (Das, 2018).’ These needs have changed throughout time, and with that, the culture has changed throughout time.

Das discusses waves of changes to Russian culture, especially during the Soviet Union, from how Soviet ideologies split the scholars of the time, and even earlier with the creation of museums, libraries and theatre.

So… what can I learn from this paper?

We learned that there are four basic elements of Russia’s cultural development: traditional cultures, classical art, techno-mass culture, and “Showbiz” culture (Das, 2018). These different elements demonstrate the impermanence of culture and the inability for culture to be contained at borders. We learned that both leaders, like Catherine and Peter the Great, as well as the elite scholars are considered the movers and shakers of culture. We also learned the importance of public support to causes, like using an ideal Russian man or woman to gain support to innovations or war. We learned that censorship does not completely erase aspects of culture, but it definitely makes it less accessible. The paper discussed how religion has affected culture. We also learned about attempts of cultural identity and heritage restoration to bring back traditional Russian values.

Here are some ideas you should contemplate:

How did the international sphere affect the Russian culture?

Immediately I thought of the introduction of Christianity to Russia. Orthodox Christianity was very important to the Russian elite, but it is not originally Russian. I dare you to think about other aspects.

Regarding the ‘restoration of cultural values,’ what time period are we trying to restore to specifically? Why that time period and for whose purposes does this assist?

I believe that public memory is very important regarding culture or ideologies, we as species have a tendency of making the same mistakes throughout history. I am both understanding and skeptical of the ideas of restoring culture. I ask questions like, “which parts of culture?” and, “who does this serve?” Culture is a broad term from technology and modernization, as mentioned in the paper, to gender norms and expectations. Think about what values they are trying to return to, these values can be good, bad, or neutral to the people affected by them.

Remember, feel free to email if you have any thoughts or questions!

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Citation

Das, P.D. (2018). Modernization and Russian Culture. International Studies 53(3-4): 305-320. Accessed at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0020881718760639.