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The cover of Natasha's Dance

Natasha's Dance

Orlando Figes

What does it mean to feel Russian, and where does that feeling live: in an idea of the nation or in small remembered things?

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At a glance

Author
Orlando Figes

Why read it

  • You will see how exiles build a homeland in the mind from small things, such as a tree, a house or street sounds
  • You will read Tolstoy, Stravinsky or Akhmatova knowing the European, peasant, religious and Asian strands that went into Russian culture
  • You will weigh the idea that a culture can stir feeling even in someone who never learned it, as a folk song does for Natasha

Who it is for

  • A reader of Tolstoy wanting Russian cultural background
  • Someone living abroad who feels homesick for particular things
  • A music or art lover curious about Stravinsky and Akhmatova

Contents

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. 1. European Russia
  3. 2. Children of 1812
  4. 3. Moscow! Moscow!
  5. 4. The Peasant Marriage
  6. 5. In Search of the Russian Soul
  7. 6. Descendants of Genghiz Khan
  8. 7. Russia through the Soviet Lens
  9. 8. Russia Abroad
  10. Table of Chronology
  11. A Guide to Further Reading

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