Dead Again: The Russian Intelligentsia After Communism [Paperback]

Masha Gessen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1997

Isaiah Berlin once argued that the concept of the intelligentsia was "Russia's greatest contribution to world civilization." Since the mid nineteenth century, the Russian intelligentsia has shared a profound sense of responsibility for the fate of its country and a belief in the transformative power of the Word -- a belief reinforced by the state, which has relentlessly tried to suppress any form of intellectual dissent. Starting with Glasnost, this belief has been sorely tested. The floodgates of information opened, but no miracle followed. Indeed, the novelty of free speech quickly wore off. While the intelligentsia was watching its most treasured dream disintegrate, it was also losing its social standing, its prestige and, finally, its money. As it had frequently done in the past, the intelligentsia responded by declaring itself dead, obsolete. Once again, it was the end. Masha Gessen, one of the most perceptive of a new generation of correspondents in Russia, does not share this pessimism. Her fascinating book is the first to examine the ways in which intellectuals are finding new identities - or survival strategies - in the present social and political maelstrom. Through a series of extraordinary individual stories, she shows their quest for a new faith, be it religion or the paranormal, a commitment to nationalist ideology, or to feminist principles. She shows, too, their search for a place in the new society, as artist or politician, entrepreneur or neo-dissident Her accounts of their careers and preoccupations can be inspiring or harrowing, and sometimes hilarious. Finally, Masha Gessen considers the prospects for future generations of intellectuals, giving a vivid and disturbing portrait of Russia's outcast Generation X, and of those younger still, who have largely abandoned any notion of society or hope for a place in it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Masha Gessen was born in Russia in 1967, and forced to leave in 1981 by state-enforced anti-Semitism. After working as a writer and editor on magazines including The Advocate and Outweek in the United States, she returned to Moscow in 1994. She is now staff writer on the magazine Itogi and political columnist for the journal Matador. She is a contributing editor to the American magazine Lingua Franca and writes regularly on Russia for the New Republic and the New Statesman. She edited and translated an anthology of contemporary Russian women's fiction and was a contributing editor to Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Verso (June 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859841473
• ISBN-13: 978-1859841471
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,571,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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