Russia Books

Since most studies of Russian industrialization tend to examine the capitalist system as a whole and downplay the role of individual firms, Jonathan Grant's Big Business in Russia fills an important niche. Originating from his Ph.D. dissertation (University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1995), this in-depth study of the St. Petersburg-based Putilov Company, Imperial Russia's largest arms manufacturer, advances our understanding of Russian industrial history at the micro level. The few specialists who have explored business activity in Imperial Russia have focused either on firms established by foreigners or non-industrial firms (e.g. banking, publishing, or insurance). Grant, now an assistant professor of modern Russian history at Florida State University in Tallahassee, poses the question: "Did Russian businessmen conduct their affairs in a unique way based on an essentially different understanding of the market and state, or did they pursue strategies for growth that would have been intelligible to their contemporaries in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States?" (p. 1). Grant concludes that Putilov's market behavior did not differ from that of the key Western arms manufacturers such as Krupp, Skoda, Vickers, and Scneider-Creusot. Thus, Grant maintains, Russian business behavior was not "deviant." The board of directors at the Putilov Company followed expansionist strategies as aggressive as any of its Western counterparts, hesitating neither to jettison old product lines, nor to invent new ones based on market forecasts. Hence Grant's study shows that the state's role in the Putilov Company-still extant today as the Kirovsky Zavod--has been exaggerated.
The book is divided into seven chronological chapters: 1) "The Rise and Fall of a Rail Manufacturing Giant: N. I. Putilov and the Putilov Company, 1868-1885;" 2) "Engineering Growth: Locomotives, Artillery, and Diversification Strategies, 1885-1900;" 3)"The Russian Krupp: Putilov and the Artillery Business, 1900-1907; 4) "Banks, Boards, and Naval Expansion: The Question of Bank Dominance, 1907-1914;" 5) "Putilov at War, 1914-1917; 6) "Conclusion: Between State and Market;" and 7) "Epilogue: Putilov's Successors." Grant's Introduction skillfully reviews the scholarly literature on Russian industrial history.
Because the Putilov factory had experiences typical of other industrial enterprises in Late Imperial Russia, Grant's choice of a case study is ideal. Originally purchased and owned by Nikolai Ivanovich Putilov (1817-1880), the factory was dependent on the tsarist state, then sold out to foreign investors whence it became a joint-stock company (p. 4).
Grant's wide use of foreign archival documents contributes to the book's uniqueness. He draws extensively on the Putilov factory's correspondence with banks and government offices from the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA) in St. Petersburg, as well as its correspondence with the tsarist army and navy from the Russian State Archive of the Navy in St. Petersburg and from the Russian State Military-Historical Archive in Moscow. For the discussion of Putilov's armaments production in Chapters Two and Three, Grant used the records of the Main Artillery Administration (Glavnoe Artilleriiskoe Upravleniye), as well as British Admiralty intelligence reports located in the British Public Record Office (Kew, Surrey, United Kingdom). In addition, he found the company's published annual account books, housed at the Moscow-based Lenin Library, to be largely reliable, despite rumors by a Soviet scholar that they may have been falsified (p. 15).
While Grant defends admirably his argument about the Putilov Company, one wishes he had extended it a bit farther. If "the image of Russia as fundamentally exceptional in its economic development should be discarded," and if Russian capitalists before the Bolshevik Revolution were just as astute as their Western counterparts, what made Soviet Russia so vulnerable to the mythology of Marxist economic and political theory?
In any case, serious graduate students interested in Russian and European business history should read Big Business in Russia: The Putilov Company in conjunction with other key works such as Susan McCaffray's The Politics of Industrialization in Tsarist Russia: The Association of Southern Coal and Steel Producers, 1874-1914 (Northern Illinois University Press, 1996); Thomas C. Owen's Entrepreneurship in the Russian Empire, 1861-1914 (M.E. Sharpe, 1996); and Ruth A. Roosa's and Thomas Owen's Russian Industrialists in an Era of Revolution: the Association of Industry and Trade, 1906-1917 (M.E. Sharpe, 1997).---Johanna Granville, Ph.D., Stanford University

A great book for students and researchers who are interest in the development of the Barent sea region (the high North).

In diesem Band konzentriert sich Rogachevskii auf das literarische Schaffen Limonovs vor dem Beginn seiner aktiven politischen Tätigkeit Mitte der Neunziger, bestimmte biographische Momente, wie seine Ausreise aus der UdSSR und die Beziehungen zu seinen Ehefrauen, sowie die Reaktion der russischen und westlichen Literaturkritik auf seine Gedichte, Bücher und Artikel. Dabei steigt Rogachevskii zuweilen in die Tiefen der Psychoanalyse hinab und widmet sich besonders der Figur des Doppelgängers" in Limonovs Romanen. Spezielle Kapitel beziehungsweise Abschnitte sind dem Vergleich Limonovs mit Vladimir Majakovskij und Ataman Petr Krasnov sowie den Konflikten Limonovs mit Vladimir Maksimov und Iosif Brodskij gewidmet.
Besonders interessant wird dieses Buch dadurch, daß Rogachevskii zu den wenigen Literaturwissenschaftlern zählt, die sich nicht gescheut haben, ihre Hochachtung für das literarische Talent Limonovs kund zu tun und sich in einigen Auseinandersetzungen Limonovs mit seinen Kritikern offen auf die Seite des enfant terrible der zeitgenössischen russischen Literatur zu stellen. Rogachevskii heißt damit freilich keinesfalls alles, was Limonov geschrieben oder getan hat, gut und bedauert insbesondere dessen politische Aktivitäten der letzten Jahre. Sein besonderer, von partieller Sympathie getragener Zugang erlaubt es Rogachevskii jedoch, eine originelle Interpretation von Limonovs öffentlichen Aktivitäten nach dem Ende der Sowjetunion anzudeuten: Dessen National-Bolschewistische Partei sei tatsächlich kein politisches Projekt, sondern werde von künstlerischen und ästhetischen Motiven bestimmt. Limonov habe sich quasi vom Poeten und Belletristen zum Aktionskünstler gewandelt, der eine parapolitische Organisation dazu nutze, Aufmerksamkeit und Widerspruch zu erzeugen sowie antisystemische Themen zu kommunizieren, wobei die Systemfeindlichkeit wichtiger werde, als die inhaltliche Kohärenz der Message.
Zumindest eignet sich diese Auslegung, die vielfachen Widersprüche in Limonovs verschiedenen politischen Positionen, die er seit den 1970ern eingenommen hat, zu erklären: sein Antisowjetismus und Nationalbolschewismus, Traditionalismus und (Pseudo-?)Bisexualismus, Faschismus und Linksextremismus, sein Ultranationalismus und seine radikale Putin-Gegnerschaft sowie die Bereitschaft, im Bündnis mit liberalen Putin-Gegnern gegen die heutige russische Administration vorzugehen. Limonovs extreme Sinneswandel unterscheiden sich deutlich von den ebenfalls erheblichen ideologischen Schwankungen des Mitgründers der NBP, Aleksandr Dugin. Während sich in Dugins Schriften und Aktionen über die Jahre hinweg eine rot(braun)e Linie" erkennen läßt, scheint das einzige wiederkehrende Merkmal in Limonovs Position seine Ablehnung des gerade aktuellen politischen Systems in dem Land, in dem er sich zum Zeitpunkt befindet, zu sein. Dies betrifft sowohl den Semitotalitarismus der Sowjetunion der frühen 1970er als auch den Marktliberalismus der USA der späten 1970er und den Sozialliberalismus Frankreichs der 1980er Jahre. Es gilt für den Demokratisierungskurs El'cins ebenso wie für den Zentralisierungskurs Putins. Ob Rußlands Zukunft nun autoritär oder innerhalb der NATO sein wird - vermutlich wird Limonov dagegen sein.
Eine derartige Interpretation der Motive Limonovs läßt dessen politische Aktivitäten in weit günstigerem Licht erscheinen, als dies eine Betrachtung seiner politischen Aktionen und Statements der letzten Jahre für sich liefern würde. Doch bleibt die Frage nach den Effekten des limonovschen Aktionismus auf die Gesellschaft und insbesondere in der studentischen Jugend, dem Hauptrekrutierungsfeld der NBP, offen. Da Limonov - trotz seiner womöglich extrapolitischen Motive - nichtsdestoweniger ein fester Bestandteil der außerparlamentarischen Opposition in Rußland geworden ist, müssen die Wirkungen seiner Handlungen auch an politischen und sozialen Maßstäben gemessen werden. Hierzu hätte man sich von Rogachevskii eindeutigere Stellungnahmen gewünscht.

Thayer's book gave me new insight on topics I have often thought about but haven't been completely clear on- my daily mood in relation to several aspects of interest, including exercise, caffeine, and sleep. An avid runner, I often wonder about how to optimize my mood through exercise. Thayer's clear description of exercise and it's effects on mood allowed me to understand my goals in achieving a peaceful state of mind through my runs. Also, his research on caffeine and mood provides good evidence that the optimal amount of caffeine (which is different for all individuals) can increase a person's affect. Finally, Thayer's work on sleep and mood is fascinating. I feel more secure in my thoughts about how much sleep I need each night in order to be in a positive mood state, whereas prior to reading his book, I wasn't completely confident that sleep affected mood in such compelling positive and negative ways. I would recommend Thayer's book to all individuals desirin! g to know not only more about daily moods but also more about personal daily patterns which are affecting mood in ways that one would never guess. I assure that all readers will gain a clear understanding of how to increase daily mood, and no individual can deny that such an increase has the potential to enhance one's life in very positive ways.

Walter Laqueur's seminal study "Black Hundred" has already been widely reviewed, discussed and quoted (e.g. Rowley 1994, Vujacic 1994). Notably, it has been translated into, among others, Russian language. The book is important for Russian right-wing extremism studies in that it, for the first time, combines a sharp focus on the subject with a firm historical grounding and consideration of an admirably wide range of disparate ideological phenomena ranging from mainstream Soviet patriotism to some of the most obscure post-Soviet fringe-groups. Laqueur's treatment of ultra-nationalistic tendencies in Russian emigre circles, the Orthodox Church and the Cossack movement are especially valuable. In addition, the author who is also a leading authority on generic fascism introduces some pertinent comparative observations on the Russian Right; he contrasts it to, among others, the Action Français and the early Nazis. In addition, the book is innovative in setting the rise of the Russian extreme Right from the late 19th century until today in the context of an increasing (if somewhat paradox) international diffusion of ultra-nationalist, vitalistic and elitist theories. Actually, an even more extensive treatment of the comparative and international aspects would have been welcome.
As others have noted before, Laqueur's account of the late and post-Soviet groupings and personalities contains a number of wrong labels, names and dates. The section on Zhirinovskii confuses some of the personage around him (p. 255). In view of the freshness of the information at the time of the book's publishing, mistakes such as these are understandable. A serious imbalance, however, is that the author touches only upon in passing the rapidly growing ultra-nationalist tendencies in the Communist Party as exemplified by the rise of Gennadii Ziuganov. He also only insufficiently deals with the ancien regime's often crucial (if sometimes disguised) role in the appearance, promotion and protection of the explicitly ultra-nationalist politicians such as Zhirinovskii.
Notwithstanding, what Laqueur has done with this book is to synthesize finally the broad variety of aspects and subtopics of, and thus to conceptualize, Russian right-wing extremism studies. His conclusion ``Russian Nationalism Today and Tomorrow'' (pp. 272-296) is one of the most thoughtful essays on post-Soviet Russian politics I have read so far.

Black Lebeda: The Russian Famine Diary of ARA Kazan District Supervisor J. River Childs 1921-1923 is the straightforward transcript of the author's experience in Soviet Russia from 1921 to 1923, detailing the inner workings of the American Relief Administration and the brutal famine conditions in both the city and the countryside. Of especial interest are Childs' insights into the Communist Party's workings in local government, and its ruthlessness toward the bourgeois and aristocrats, many of whom came to work for ARA, as well as the personal testimony of Lenin's famous New Economic Policy, actually a partial return to old capitalism. Though colored by Childs' perspective, Black Lebeda is a singularly valuable primary source and firsthand accounting of turbulent changes in the Soviet Union during the interlude between world wars.

Chekhov's a master.

Even here, the shortest of stories, is as powerful as his most popular plays. And while the story shares similar themes and environs; the lonely country estate, a beautiful orchard, family angst, malaise, boredom, nature, madness, creativity and the interesting-and invigorating-visitor who comes to stay, there's even more here.

Call it the supernatural, insomnia-induced hallucination or the madness & joy of creative genius, Chekhov stumbled onto something new here. A column of smoke, a dark tornado, a monk robed in black. Our protagonist, Andrey Kovrin, tells Tanya Pesotskaya, the estate-owner's daughter, about the black monk, imparting him as a legend, a story "not distinguished for its clarity." Andrey soon thereafter meets the monk, who comes first as a force of nature, later preceded by violins and singing. As deep as Andrey's conversations with the monk later come to be, the surrounding tale of Andrey and the estate-owner's daughter is classic Chekhov and stands on its own, x-file or no x-file.

I loved this story. Hope you like it too.

The Blind Musician is an excellent story, aimed at a younger audience, but possessing the depth to make it a good read for all ages. The protagonist, born blind, is incredibly sensitive to the world around him but lacks the language of the sighted to express it. This expression is finally achieved through his remaining primary sense - sound - and the world unfolds before him. In hardcover, the exquisite artwork makes it a beautiful gift for a sighted child or for anyone who appreciates the many ways the world can be 'seen'.

This is an excellent account of the blockade of Leningrad. It allows the reader inside the lives of Elena Kochina and her family as they struggle with survival, and presents a frightening example of how personal relationships, even those between husbands and wives and parents and children, can break down in the midst of such terrible deprivation. I highly recommend this book and consider it an excellent source for undergraduate history classes. It is a short, primary source, and students seem to relate well to it.

Agoston's piece is surely one of the best recounting of WWII history -- an entertaining and educational read.