London, Kandace Tifffany Dayemo
Russian Thought and Civilization
Sarah Pratt
9 December 2011
Final Exam Essay
Since the arrival of Rurik, and the unification of the Slavic Tribes in 862 AD,
Russia has constantly struggled to find their national identity as other foreign civilizations
left their influence on Russian culture. Russia has been depicted in literature and media as
a country that has been labeled as Mother Russia, a connotation that feminizes the
country as weak, and lost in their sense of direction and goals that define them as a
collective people. Frequent invasions by the Mongols, the Varangians, and influences
from Western Europe created instability for the country, causing the Russian people to
seek a father figure that would firmly rule the country to insure stability regardless of the
methods implemented to achieve it. Also Russia wanted to become a powerful country on
the world stage, as centuries of Mongol invasion inhibited their ability to grow as a
country, and set them back 200 years behind Western Europe since Mongol occupation
isolated Russia from the rest of the world. There are four works, Domostroi, Devils, Ivan
the Terrible, and Burnt by the Sun that serve as evidence to the struggle experienced by
Russias people as they sought to find a father figure that would place an identity on their
unique culture.
Domostroi, written in the 15th century during Ivan the Terribles reign, is an
instruction manual that was created to instruct Russians, particularly the aristocracy, on
how to run their households. The patriarchal hierarchy is evident in Domostroi, as men
were instructed to be the ultimate fathers of the household whether or not they were
present in the home. A fathers role is to protect their children from the evils of the world
doing this makes them an ideal citizen of the country and the ideal Russian son. The
Domostroi, instructs that fathers must guard and protect their children in a literal sense
but one can infer that this is a concept to be upheld to a more global degree. Furthermore,
the need of protection is yearned by the people due to the years of foreign invasions. The
people of Russia are just searching for someone who will protect; it does not matter the
extent to which this protection is achieved. Also the tying of Biblical scriptures within the
instructions show the Russians commitment to preserving their Russians Orthodox rituals
and values into their every day culture, A man who loves his son will whip him often, so
that when he grows up he may be a joy to him. The word whip can symbolize the
acceptance of tearing down or destroying the outer layers of the Russian people if it will
eventually produce the rich Russian culture that is underneath. According to the patriarch
society that is Russia it is a male who must do thisa father who will protect Russia by
any means necessary.
Devils, written by Dostoevsky in the late 19th century, contradicts the ideals of
Domostroi as the eminence of revolution threatens the ideal patriarchal society created by
the Tsars, and the Russian Orthodox Church. Russia also is deciding on whether they
choose to identity as Western, or Slavic. This conflict is represented between a father and
son, whose ideals vastly conflict. Stepan Trofimovich who is a man of the 40s is a
Westernizer, his speech a mixture of French and Russian. His ideas for reform are liberal,
influenced by the French Enlightenment as he has spent a great amount of time abroad.
His son, Peter Stepanovich , is a Slavophile and man of the 60s. He is more cunning
in his plans although his motives for a nihilistic revolution are unclear. Trofimovich, a
superfluous man consumed by academia and divulging into expanding his intelligence,
left his son Peter to be taken care of by Aunts after he was widowed. He did not represent
the ideal father depicted in Domostroi, wasted and his money on paying off his debts
rather than taking care of his son. This shift in the father figures role within the
intelligentsia demonstrates a value increase in individuality, inspired by Western ideals,
rather than the creation of a strong family unit.
The film Ivan the Terrible, by Eisenstein, enforces a return to the idealization of a
patriarchal society represented by the ideal Russian household in Domostroi. Ivan the
Terrible, released in 1944, shows the shift in the roles of the Tsar as a leader who
virtually co-rules Russia with the Church, to taking on a completely autocratic,
overbearing father approach and validating his policies and actions by divine right.
Ivan represents Russias desire to become a powerful nation that is taken seriously on the
global stage, to define its culture as worthy of appreciation. His ambitions for these goals
are represented in several scenes that show Ivans shadow being larger than another
objects shadow, such as a globe. These scenes show that Ivan is a powerful force that
will see through his goals of creating a strong, stable Russia that will leave its mark on
the world, even if he must destroy other boyars who he believes threaten his goals. The
shadows represent the role of the overbearing father the Tsars haven taken on since Ivan
the Terrible crowned himself Tsar. These overarching themes of a father figure
protecting Russia carried on throughout history into the times of Stalin when the
Russian people were looking for a strong leader to stabilize their country. Ivan the
Terrible was admired by Stalin because he identified his own ambitions of making Russia
the most powerful country in the world, and taking any necessary mean to achieve that
role.
Stalins ambitions to make Russia powerful is mirrored in the characterization of
Kotov in the film Burnt by the Sun. Kotov is depicted as a hard working, obedient servant
of Stalins manipulative regime, he is the ultimate strong father that Russians are suppose
to try to be. The beginning of the film opens up with a scene where Kotov is with his
daughter and his wife. They are spending intimate time together, he is joking and playing
with them in a loving, fatherly way. This can represent the one side of Stalin where he is
seen as the father who will take care of his children in a passionate way always doing
what he think is best for the well being. The next scene cuts to Kotov exerting control
over the military and protecting the fields of the people. Kotov is portrayed as a
protector, someone who can always be counted on, and in return is given respect because
it is deserved. This notion can be paralleled to the type of nation Stalin tried to create. He
felt that he was justly protecting the people of his country and it is only right that they
give him respect. If they are not respectful they do not deserve protection. Although
Russias history has been marked by various periods of foreign rule, causing shifts in
Russias national identity, the desire for a strong ruler who is father-like to lead Russia to
greatness on the global stage has never wavered. The works before mentioned are a
testament to the strength of pursuing and upholding Russias national identity through
tumultuous times. Regardless if Russia chooses to identify as Eastern, Western, or just
Russia itself; it can definitely be said that Russians culture is unique and its traditions
have contributed much to the world and are unparalleled to any other culture.
Works Cited
Burnt by the Sun. Dir. Nikita Mikhalkov. 1994.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, and Michael R. Katz. Devils. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Ivan Grozny. Ivan the Terrible. Part 1. Ivan the Terrible. Dir. Sergei Eisenstein. 1944.
Pouncy, Carolyn. The "Domostroi": Rules for Russian Households in the Time of Ivan
the
Terrible. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1994. Print.