Russia Books

Not following in the footsteps of ones father is not an entirely new concept, says "Holy Fathers, Secular Sons: Clergy, Intelligentsia, and the Modern Self in Revolutionary Russia". Around 1860, the sons of clergymen were allowed to leave the strict caste of the clergy to pursue their own interests if they so pleased. What followed was an interesting endeavor where the sons began to push social reform throughout the country, and interestingly enough, did so by retaining the values of the Russian Orthodox Church. "Holy Fathers, Secular Sons: Clergy, Intelligentsia, and the Modern Self in Russia" is a must have for community library collections on history for tackling an event that's so under covered by most libraries.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I long resisted buying this book, as I thought it too expensive. I finally got it on sale and wonder why I waited so long. This is an inspiring book about five incredible orthodox women. As the author states "these women jumped up from the pages" and forced her to tell of the deeper stirrings of their souls. Indeed, each one speaks to the heart of the reader in her own way. As I read of their human weaknesses, their trials and temptations and their growth in the Lord, it gives me the motivation to walk more closely with God. It also makes me realize the depth and beauty of the Orthodox faith. And the book is well worth the full price!

A television aerial made out of forks and a lamp made of aeroplane parts; a plastic colander mended in four different places; one shovel that recycles a `men at work' sign and another, the handle of a crutch; DIY sink-plungers, DIY torches, mudflaps, waffle-irons, telephones... These are a few of the `thingamyjigs' to be found in Vladimir Arkhipov's delightful `Home-Made', a sort of Blue Peter extravaganza of the Brezhnev era.
This small book, with it's colour photographs of funny, crudely made objects and short accompanying texts, achieves something matched by few conventional histories - a vivid and moving picture of real life behind the Iron Curtain. The shortages throughout the Soviet era and the Yeltsin years were, of course, the original impetus for much of this ingenuity. After the war there was terrible need, as the pathetic tools and rat-traps made during that time testify. Under Brezhnev, a version of communism was achieved in which money was more or less meaningless; there was not enough in the shops for people to spend their roubles on. Instead they relied on barter and complicated personal networks, friends who could weld metal or supply parts.
On the one hand, the `home-made' phenomenon is a lesson in why the Soviet economy collapsed - everyone was pilfering, not to mention spending their workdays doing their own and others' DIY. Arkhipov suggests that the activity was a direct response to life in the an oppresive state: `Each person who can make something with his hands prefers to make something small and concrete rather than uniting with others to change lives'.
On the other hand, to us living in the disposable age, Arkhipov's collection is something of a vindication of the Soviet Unions anti-consumerism. Each of these objects, however basic, is important. First it's creator had to search around for the materials, barter for them or recognise them in a punctured child's ball or a broken watch-strap. Then it was laboured over, perfected through a series of experiments. Finally it was used and used until it became worn by use. By this time the most mundane artifact is, as you can imagine, a matter for pride and affection. It is almost an heirloom.
Many of the objects are purely functional. But many, perhaps the majority, are not so practical. They are expressions of their creators' passions - rock climbing pegs and fishing reels, toys and tapedecks. Some reveal DIY geniuses for whom the pleasure was in the production itself, like the author's father who fashioned a radio out of a soap dish, flashing Christmas lights and a heat chamber for making rubber car parts. One that seemed to have a particularly Russian charm was a combination of pen and torch. `This,' says the inventor, `is connected with that romantic poetical period in a young man's life when the muse only takes it upon herself to visit him at night... You hold it under the pillow and use it for all your youthful musings'.
In the preface, Susan B Glasser, a Washington Post journalist, mentions a home-made radio `round which the family would huddle, listening to Voice of America', the forks bought `because the Soviet Union was about to collapse and there was nothing else for sale'. Like many Westerners, she seems convinced that everyday life in the USSR - unlike in the US or Europe - revolved entirely around the political situation. Yet one of the most pleasing things about this book is the light it sheds on Soviet citizens' real preoccupations - how to amuse your children while they are eating their dinner (a home-made bubble wand), how to keep your fishing bait dry (an ingenious little box), or how to soothe a sore back (a back-massaager made out of an abacus).
Arkhipov points out that the urge to thingamyjig is universal and hopes to create `a collective virtual record of a worldwide phenomenon'. If you are interested, visit [...]and join the party.

Charlotte Hobson.

I enjoyed Homecoming because of how true-to-life it was. They endured more than any family I have ever read about, but it did have a great happy ending. Even though this story took place during the Bolshevik revolution, it's very much like the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany in World War II.

Review by Janice Huber Stangl, Sterling, Virginia, author of the book, Marienberg: Fate of a Village.

Homeland Book of the Bessarabian Germans by Albert Kern, now translated into English, is a must read for anyone whose ancestors were born or lived in Bessarabia. Those Germans from Russia whose direct line does not stem from Bessarabia will also benefit from the insight written by many people of the area. The descriptive writings about the history, immigration, and then the resettlement during World War II, grips you with the smell of the earth, the blue of the sky, and the wrenching sadness, when they must leave their land, home, animals and all they possess. The narratives often remind me of our experiences during our June, 1998 visit to the villages of Arzis, Alt Elft, Neu Elft and Schabo.

The articles on more than 100 colonies and estates, are written by the people who lived and served in various capacities in the area. The voices of experience and daily living provide reading of such interest, one can hardly put the book down. Hours can be spent studying pictures of homes, churches, and colony life. The format of each parish, and its colonies and estates, makes the material easily accessible. It includes one of the best lists of site locations of German Parishes in Bessarabia, that I have seen. The complete list of sources, index of pictures, place name index, and subject index, all provide specific information at your fingertips in a matter of seconds.

The Honor List of Missing in Action and Deaths in WWI and WWII lists hundreds and hundreds of names of sons and fathers of all the various colonies. The names seem to read like almost any telephone book in the Dakotas, or any community with a large Germans from Russia contingent. This newly translated and published book by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, Fargo, will become a valuable addition to your library.

The remote corners of history are frequently the most interesting. This well-researched and beautifully written biography of Captain Francis Cromie (1882-1918)is a spellbinding page-turner. It reads like a historical novel and is full of suspense.

Captain Cromie was in 1915 at age 33 commander of England's Baltic Sea submarine fleet, based out of Reval, Estonia (then part of Russia). The story includes not only his and his ship's exploits against the German Navy in the Baltic, but also Cromie's exploits in maneuvering the survival of his crews and dozen submarines when Russia pulled out of the war in 1917. Cromie next finds himself as British naval attache in St. Petersburg during the Russian Revolution making British policy in the fights between the Red and White Russian Armies. Having been gone from his wife and child daughter for four years, there is naturally some romance with well-connected Russian nobles, who used Cromie as he used them to survive the chaos of Russia of 1918. Bainton does a superb job of piecing together Cromies adventures by having interviewed several survivors of his crews, his female companions, and copious research in British and Russian archives to weave a fantastic -- and true -- history of the man and his mission. Highly recommend it for readers of suspense stories and historians.

This large (9.5"x12.5"x1") and attractive book was published in 1970. Containing many large and attractive pictures (some color and some black-and-white); it makes a fun book to simply thumb through. But, beyond that, the text of this book is excellent, giving the reader a good understanding of Russian history from prehistoric times through to the 1960s.

This is a great book, one that I highly recommend to anyone interested in pre-1970s Russian history. I found the book to be easy to read and understand, and the pictures to be well chosen and presented. I have two complaints against this book: one is its age, and the other its size (it's too large and heavy to comfortably read in bed). But, neither complaint is major, so I still rate this book as a five-star (excellent) book, one that I highly recommend!

This is by far the most moving book I have ever read. It is an extremely detailed and vivid portrayal of life in a well to do (but not aristocratic) Russian family.

The early parts of the book give a detailed and fascinating histroy of the authors relatives prior to her birth. Then in an gripping and extremely colourful narrative she describes her childhood at the start of this century until the family is forced to flee Russia shortly after the Russian revolution.

This book stirs up such strong images that it is almost like watching a film, and only one I know of is so evocatice. Schindlers List.

There are two other books by Eugenie Fraser. I have not read the second about her life in India after the Second World War , but have been told it is a little disappointing. However her final book 'The Dvina remains' is again a gripping and slightly harrowing account of her return to Archangel and her correspondance with relatives who remained in Russia. Also well worth a read.

I took a class from Earl Braggs as an undergraduate at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga some seven years ago. Reading Braggs' works reminds me how great an influence he is on my life. I have not seen him in a long time, but reading his poetry makes me feel like I talked to him yesterday. His latest installment is very passionate. After reading this book, you will want to buy his other works. Get to know Braggs. You will be better for it.

This is a charming picture book about a peasant who finds an old brass samover when digging up roots in his field. His boasting that he can now drink tea like the tsar leads him before the ruler to prove it. The tsar's servants perform a lavish and beautifully described ceremony centered around his gold, jewel-encrusted samover. At the end is one cup of tea for the tsar. He sips it while the court waits for his judgement. "Ah, good" says the tsar and the peasant tells him; I drink tea like the tsar because we both say "Ah, good". It's a nice little lesson about being human no matter what your station, it's educational about Russian culture in the past, and the pictures always make me want tea! This book should be reprinted for a new generation to enjoy.