The Firebird and the Fox
Russian Culture under Tsars and Bolsheviks

A century of Russian artistic genius, including literature, art, music and dance, within the dynamic cultural ecosystem that shaped it.

Jeffrey Brooks (Author)

9781108735872, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 May 2021

364 pages
23 x 15 x 2 cm, 0.53 kg

'The originality of Brooks's approach, combined with his mastery of his subject matter, as well as his terse, efficient writing style, forms a sweeping, nuanced study that in other hands might have turned out overly deterministic or clichéd.' American Historical Review

Showcasing the genius of Russian literature, art, music, and dance over a century of turmoil, within the dynamic cultural ecosystem that shaped it, The Firebird and the Fox explores the shared traditions, mutual influences and enduring themes that recur in these art forms. The book uses two emblematic characters from Russian culture - the firebird, symbol of the transcendent power of art in defiance of circumstance and the efforts of censors to contain creativity; and the fox, usually female and representing wit, cleverness and the agency of artists and everyone who triumphs over adversity - to explore how Russian cultural life changed between 1850 and 1950. Jeffrey Brooks reveals how high culture drew on folk and popular genres, then in turn influenced an expanding commercial culture. Richly illustrated, The Firebird and the Fox assuredly and imaginatively navigates the complex terrain of this eventful century.

List of illustrations
Preface
Introduction: an age of genius
Part I. Emancipation of the Arts (1850–1889): 1. Freedom and the fool
2. Desire and rebellion
3. Artists and subjects
4. Anton Chekhov in his time
5. The writer as civic actor
Part II. Politics and the Arts (1890–1916): 6. After realism: art and authority
7. The performing arts: Diaghilev's Ballets Russes
8. Celebrity, humor, and the avant-garde
Part III. The Bolshevik Revolution and the Arts (1917–1950): 9. A new normal
10. Irony and power
11. An era of the fox
12. Goodness endures
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD], Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 [DSBF]