Russia Books

Dear Reader: Firstly, I thank you for taking a time to read my story and enjoy with my paintings. Without you or better say without hopping to meet you the book would be never published. Secondly, without receiving any favor or a discount from Amazom.com I would like to thanks them to gratefully listed my book on their site and support that it has provided to fulfill all required forms. A life-long events of anyone is a reason to write a book about. It is maybe pity but another, much more significant indict needed for encouragement to write a book. It can be anything a murder, a bank rubbery, a great adventure and just about anything what might stir our feelings. In my case it was my divorce. It forced me to turn on computer to record what I felt insensitive and hard to appreciate actions of my ex-wife and as well the juridical system of United State. After a short time a computer became my friend and confidant. At that time I wrote for myself and had no plan for publication. During my life I learn no other means to relief my anger and frustration but painting it out before and now to write. The communication with my computer helped to save my sanity. For good or bad but during four-years long divorce I got accustom to write and when in 1977 I reached the settlement my writing marked 2000 pages. Also I learned to value a positive effort regardless of its creator and would feel a crime to through my own work into a garbage I decided to organize all written stories and in some cases very sketchy into a trilogy -- The Fool. In 1998 the first book "Born under the Black Sun" was submitted to a publisher and though found very interesting the problem with marketing chilled the enthusiasm. I rejected a notion that the book should be market only among newcomers from Russia. The trilogy was not written about emigrant and for emigrant. The trilogy explores a male-female relationship, thoughts about government and governing, philosophical essay of a human nature, justice, love, hate, human tragedy and drama. After some thinking I decided to create an art-book. A book which should be of interest to anyone and had no nationalistic boarders. That way The Colors of Truth was born.

In 1977, Vladimir Shvartsman emigrated from Russia to America. The Colors Of Truth: A Journey from Russia to America is a compelling collection of his artwork. Each of the 49 paintings is accompanied by an informative text relating the conditions surrounding (and sometimes inspiring) the work. Shavartsman also provides a brief and engaging biography of himself, including a painful divorce, all of which impacted on his art in one way or another. There are occasions in the text where it becomes obvious that English is a second language, but that only serves to underscore the authenticity and candor of this unique, engaging, biographically oriented collection of an artist's work and vision under trying and difficult circumstances.

This united edition of the correspondence was long overdue. The letters of the Emperor and Empress appear together for the first time, cleansed of the transcription errors which spoiled the first (1923) edition of her correspondence, and of the tactful editing which expunged the more intimate passages from the 1929 version of his. Joseph Fuhrmann's footnotes are helpful, thoroughly researched and not unsympathetic to the writers. For students of Russian history, this book is an extraordinarily important source on the government of Russia immediately before the Revolution; it repays careful and open-minded reading. For those interested in the personal life and the characters of the last Tsar's family, it is arguably better still: here we have Nicholas II, affectionate and gentle, occasional author of rather poetic descriptions of scenery (this is not the Nicholas of the blandly factual diary). Here too his beloved Empress, sharp-tongued and energetic and interested in everything, very different to the tragic-eyed lady of legend. High politics and war jostle for attention with amusing little accounts of the childrens' activities, but there is never any doubt that the letters were written in serious times by people who understood and sought desperately to find a solution to the problems Russia faced. They certainly don't make light reading, but if you have the patience, these letters repay your perseverance.

It's hard to believe these letters and telegrams were exchanged by a ruler and his wife under the immensely stressful conditions of WWI. I'm an aficionado of Imperial Russian History, but the unbelievable banality of this couple, relentlessly exposed in their own words is hard to take. A terrifically thorough book, it's a slow read--which certainly makes you feel you're getting your money's worth. I'm glad I bought it, and have learned more about these Romanovs even though their correspondence reveals shallowness and self-interest. Very good book, pitiful subjects.

This is the only professionally written, highly analytic, examination of the greatest documentary film of old times, Dziga Vertov's "The Man With the Movie Camera," which includes a formal analysis of virtually every shot, simultaneously represented with the respective frame enlargement.

This is an excllent title for degree level students studying film, art or european history. I found this an extremely rewarding analysis of Vertov's work and working practice. Petric writes in a way that is academic but also easily understandable for the lay. Petric does not just an analysis 'The Man With The Movie Camera' he also looks in depth at the political and artistic conditions that gave rise to constructivism.

Film studies students often drop the name; Dziga Vertov without actually knowing anything about the man or his work and this book is an excellent way to learn more.

This book has the rare quality of being a classroom text as well as a report. Today's Russia. Pyramid schemes, religion, rave parties,rock music, detective stories, cinema, pets, porn, graffiti, tattooing... the carnival of crazy New Russia to be read overnight. A shock.

Going to Russia? Buy it. Interested in reading about contemporary Russia beyond what the newspapers tell you? Buy it. Taking a class on Russian culture? Buy it. I really can't recommend this book enough for specialists and novices alike. There's something to please everybody here.

Tony Bently an auther who writes in great detail ( she also wrote the indepth Winter Season, and Susanne Farrells Biography.)
Tony once again is very successful with this magical book. When one reads Costumes by Karinska you never want to put it down. This book is also very rich in photos. a great combination. One does not have to be a dancer to read this book.
It is a rare treat. Buy it, you won't be dissapointed

If you have ever seen a ballet by George Balanchine, then you are familiar with the name Karinska. In the foreward to this magnificently produced book, the great Balanchine is quoted as saying to the Ford Foundation that what he needed most for his work was "Karinska." Truth or overstatement, it is an obvious tribute to the woman who designed the costumes for more than 75 ballets by one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

The author, Toni Bentley was not only a dancer with Balanchine's New York City Ballet, she also wrote the best book on ballet I've ever read: WINTER SEASON, A DANCER'S JOURNAL.

In COSTUMES BY KARINSKA Bentley traces Barbara Karinska's life and work in Russia and then, after becoming one of the numerous emigrees to the West, in Paris, Monte Carlo, London, Hollywood and, finally, Manhattan in 1949. Karinska worked with many other famous creative people in her long and varied career including Agnes De Mille, Jerome Robbins, Franco Zeffirelli and George Cukor to name just a few.

This oversized book contains scores of wonderful photographs and sketches in color and in black and white including, to me, the most interesting part of the book: descriptions of how Karinska took "raw" sketches by artists such as Noguchi, Dali, Chagall, etc. and, literally, turned them into costumes.

Bentley writes gracefully and wittily and, most importantly, she doesn't only write for dance professionals.

Treat yourself to this relatively expensive but very much worthwhile history of costume in the last century and the personal and professional life of the woman who "dressed" so many major stars from Gypsy Rose Lee to Laurence Olivier. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I can definately see why this book is a classic. Dostoyevesky writes with such intelligence and skill. It is as if you are viewing a murder from the mind of the murderer. It is a page turner. For anyone who HAD to read it when you were younger, please read it again for fun. It so interesting to read. This traslation comes with some helpful tips and is a very convenient size. I highly recommend this book, as well as this version.

This book is excellent but readers should take the time to read the Translator's Preface before jumping in. This will help to understand the names of the characters and other nuances that apply to a book translated from another language. The book is about redemption. It's worth the effort to get through it. I woud not have understood or appreciated the book in my youth.

This is a very thorough and insightful book on NATO and its predicaments

This is a great book written by my professor. I think Mr. Gardner is a great writer who know his subject inside out.

Robert Marcum is an excellent author who keeps the action and suspense at maximum in his novels. "Death of a Tsar" was wonderful and if you like that one, another wonderful book by Marcum is "The Orlov Legacy". I get so involved in his books it feels like I am part of the action. Absolutely a must read for anyone who enjoys good suspense!

Robert Marcum does an excellent job in his fourth novel. He is a professor at Ricks College and teaches Russian studies. This book takes an American businessman to Russia ,who gets tangled up with a package that has ties to the Imperial Tsar. It will keep you in suspense never knowing what is going to happen next. The list of characters becomes complex, enough so, that the author gives you a list in the beginning of the book as to who the characters are. It is written by an LDS author, and the main character in the book is an LDS person. But it crosses over to anyone who loves a great book!

M. Steven Fish hat Neuland beschritten, indem er erstmals die eigenartige Entwicklung russischer unabhängiger sozialer und politischer Gruppierungen in der Sowjetunion unter Gorbatschow in eine komparatistische Rahmentheorie eingebettet hat. Die Enstehung einer unabhängigen Zivil- und politischen Gesellschaft in Rußland ist zuvor schon zahlreich dokumentiert und beschrieben worden. Explizite und umfassende Erklärungsschemata für die zunächst stürmische Parteiengenese von ca. 1989 bis 1991, allerdings später immer deutlicher werdendere Fragilität dieser neuen politischen Landschaft sind bisher jedoch kaum vorgelegt worden. Zur Begründung der spektakulären organisatorischen Ineffektivität, programmatischen Abgehobenheit und ideologischen Haarspalterei der vielen neuen russischen Parteien der frühen 1990er sind bislang wenig mehr als fragwürdige Spekulationen über den unmündigen Nationalcharakter der Russen oder über die Auslöschung ihrer politischen Kultur durch das bis zuletzt "totalitäre" Regime hervorgebracht worden. Fish liefert hier ein wesentlich differenzierteres Bild und schildert mit viel Empathie und theoretischer Finesse, warum die erste Welle der Parteineugründungen von 1988 bis 1991 zum Scheitern verurteilt war.
Zwei wohldurchdachte Argumente stechen aus Fishs Begründung heraus. Erstens weist er darauf hin, daß die sogenannten "Neformaly" (wörtlich: Informellen) - also die eigentlich verbotenen, aber nichtsdestostrotz geduldeten neuen politisch und sozialen Gruppen - der zweiten Hälfte der 1980er und die neuen Parteien der frühen 1990er im Prozeß ihrer grundsätzlichen Identitätsfindung und politischen Selbstverortung nur beschränkt auf tradierte Handlungs- und Denkmuster, wie etwa auf den Hintergrund einer Dissidentenbewegung, zurückgreifen konnten. Anders als in den Ländern Ostmitteleuropas, spielten Dissidentennetzwerke und andere alternative nichtstaatliche Institutionen nur eine beschränkte Rolle im politischen Leben der UdSSR vor 1985. Die sich selbst oft explizit als "Parteien" bezeichnenden neuen Gruppierungen mußten somit bei der Formulierung ihrer politischen Ziele, Programmatik und Rolle im gesellschaftlichen Leben des Landes tatsächlich bei Null - "from scratch" - anfangen. Damit war ihr Reifungsprozeß in gewisser Hinsicht demjenigen der neuen, ebenfalls traditionslosen und lange organisatorisch ineffektiven Grünen Parteien Westeuropas der 1970er-1980er in mancher Hinsicht ähnlich. Die neuen russischen "Parteien" waren in ihrer Anfangsphase somit oft keine vollentwickelten Parteien im herkömmlichen Sinne, also pragmatische, um politische Macht ringende Organisationen. Sie sollten dies zunächst auch in erster Linie gar nicht sein. Vielmehr dienten die "Parteien" und ihre häufigen und langandauernden Kongresse und Konferenzen zunächst als Foren einer ideel-politischen Selbstvergewisserung der einzelnen Mitglieder, der kollektiven Identitätsbestimmung nach innen sowie der Abgrenzung gegenüber politischen Konkurrenten nach nach außen. Häufige Spaltungen und eine Aversion gegenüber Verschmelzung mit ideologisch nahestehenden anderen Gruppierungen waren die Folge. Prominentestes Beispiel war das vom Westen mit viel Bedauern beobachtete Scheitern der Vereinigung der Republikanischen und Sozial-Demokratischen Partei Rußlands. Obwohl beide Parteien ideologisch nahezu deckungsgleich waren und den offensichtlichen organisatorischen Nutzen des zunächst ernsthaft anvisierten Zusammengehens scheinbar verstanden, spielte die Wahrung der neugewonnenen Identität eine letztendlich größere Rolle als politische Pragmatik. Die aus der Demokratischen Plattform der KPdSU hervorgegangene Republikanische Partei wollte ihre neugewonnene Selbstidentifikation als progressive Avantegarde der intellektuellen Elite des Sowjetstaates nicht aufgeben. Die SDPR ihrerseits wollte ihren Status als alternative linke, explizit oppositionelle Partei ohne KPdSU-Vergangenheit nicht aufs Spiel setzen.
Die zweite Besonderheit der russischen Transformation war, daß eine breit angelegte Demokratisierung auf Landesebene noch vor dem Abschluß einer Reihe elementarer Liberalisierungsmaßnahmen einsetzte. Anders als in den Transitionen in Südeuropa, Lateinamerika oder Ostasien hatten politisch ambitionierte Persönlichkeiten in Rußland die Chance, sich insbesondere in Legislativorgane verschiedener Ebenen wählen zu lassen, noch bevor oder schon kurz nachdem sie die Möglichkeit erhalten hatten, sich politische zu organisieren. Nach der Wahl einiger der bekanntesten russischen Demokraten in die Volksdeputiertenkongresse sowie Regional- und Stadtsowjets beziehungsweise sogar in Exekutivorgane (Jelzin, Popow, Sobtschak) waren diese wichtigen Führer weitgehend für den Aufbau einer unabhängigen Zivilgesellschaft und Parteienlandschaft verloren. Und dies, obwohl die UdSSR und RSFSR Deputiertenkongresse und Sowjets zumindestest bis zum August 1991 in ihren Kompetenzen beschränkt waren und somit eher als Sprechtribüne für verschiedene politische Kräfte, denn als relevante Entscheidungsorgane fungierten.
Fishs fruchtbare Kombination einer Vielzahl von sowjetologischen und komparatistischen theoretischen Erkenntnissen mit gründlichen Vor-Ort-Recherchen und teilnehmenden Beobachtungen stellt zweifellos einen Meilenstein in der Aufarbeitung der neuen russischen Revolution am Ende dieses Jahrhunderts dar.

"Democracy from Scratch" explains, in theory and anecdote, why Russian politics were so confused around 1993. It is a special historical document -- and was quite an influence on me personally (in the form of a semester's worth of lectures) because Steven Fish was my senior thesis advisor.