Massie

[Jack Kollmann]

         Like Michael Denner, my mom taught me not to say not-nice
things.  But when it comes to readings on Russian cultural history, I care
enough to steer readers towards better works and away from not-so-good
works.  I have to agree with Michael that   Massie's "Firebird" is vapid,
amateurish, FULL of glittering generalities, cliched tautologies, and
LOADED with inaccuracies.  Emily Tall is not alone in feeling that
"Firebird" is well-written and shows the enthusiasm of the author for her
subject, but I have to say that these perceived qualities (I can agree on
"enthusiasm," but not "well-written") are not enough to excuse the book's
inaccuracies or to cancel the unfortunate effects of exposing ANY readers
-- whether "sophisticated" or not -- to what I have to say is simply bad
history (unscholarly, amateurish, uncritical use of secondary sources,
inaccurate).

         Samples?  OK.  I'll just glance at a few pages.
         p. 14:  "It is a glimpse into the profound differences between our
cultures to know that in Russian, the words 'frustration' and
'sophistication' do not exist." [!?]
           p.23:  "The Russians embraced this Eastern Christianity
joyfully, with all the exuberance of their nature." [their nature?]
         p. 25:  "...a crescent moon at the foot of the cross signified a
victory over the Moslem Tatars." [rival, more historically accurate
explanation:  descended from ancient Roman sailors' anchor cross]
         p. 25:  "Russian churches are square in plan...". [not all, or
even most]
         p. 43:  "When in 1453 Constantinople fell to the Moslem Turks,
Moscow proudly declared itself to the the 'Third Rome,'...".  "Shortly
after, the Metropolitan was raised to the rank of Patriarch." [3rd Rome
idea essentially unknown in Moscow in 1450s; patriarch not elevated until 1589]
         p. 45:  "As had happened in Kiev with the craftsmen from
Byzantium, the land exerted its own magnetism over the Italians." [evidence?]
         p. 48:  all rulers of Muscovy up to the 18th century were interred
in the Kremlin Archangel Michael Cathedral [what about Boris Godunov?]
         p. 55:  "...the fun-loving nature of the Russians..." [me too]
         p. 64:  Anastasiia's death "terrified" Ivan IV [source?]
         3rd page of color plates after p. 64 --icon is misidentified
         5th page of color plates:  the iconostasis shown is not that of
the Archangel Michael Cathedral
         p. 65:  Ivan IV "always understood his true power"; "...Ivan read
everything he could find..." [evidence?]
         p. 66:  "Anastasiia was beautiful, gentle and clever." [source?]
         p. 67:  "Ivan had many gifts, among them an unusual memory and
considerable literary ability.... He could quote easily by memory from many
Biblical and historical texts." [source?]
         p. 67:  "It was Ivan, too, who in 1554 had the first printing
press brought to Russia." [and what happened to it?]
         p. 68:  "Ivan's whole reign was a golden age for the development
of Russian music, in which he played a crucial role." [source?]
         p. 71:  "Feasting and banquets played an important part in the
life of every class in Muscovy. ... These banquets reflected a Russian love
of lavishness and magnificence ...." [just Russians?]
         p. 75:  "Russians loved jewels, regarding them with awe, almost as
if they were alive, ...." [I like 'em too]
         pp. 123-124:  a "story" about the 1st Catherine Palace at Tsarskoe
Selo, followed by: "no one knows whether this actually happened..." [then
why tell the story?; answer:  because it's fun to tell]
         I repeat, this is just glancing through some pages.

         I haven't inflicted Billington ("The Icon and the Axe") on
students in years:  too detailed, too many names dropped for the
introductory reader.  Actually, reading him critically might be a good
exercise for advanced students of Russian cultural history.

         There's the late Bruce Lincoln's "Between Heaven and Hell:  The
Story of a Thousand Years of Artistic Life in Russia," which is not so
detailed as Billington.  But why look for a single book on an impossibly
broad topic?  Why not select topics within Russian cultural history? --
topics within the fields of art, architecture, religion, literature, dance,
folk arts, music, etc. -- something on Moscow, on St. Petersburg, etc.  And
then assign chapters, articles, use video, CDs, etc.  Pick half a dozen
topics.  The students will probably learn and retain more than if you
attempt a survey of everything from St. Vladimir I to Andrei Tarkovsky.

         In any case, not Massie.

Best,
Jack Kollmann

At 05:09 PM 3/27/01 +0000, you wrote:
>One may agree with Michael on Massie, but, you know, "na bezryb'e i rak
>ryba." What else is there? As far as sophistication goes, I taught an
>undergraduate course in Rus. culture at SUNY/Buffalo, and there was no
>sophistication as far as I could see (well, there were no prerequisites)
>so the students knew NOTHING about Russia. As far as Massie's uncritical
>bias goes, one can discuss it in class. She writes well and she conveys
>her enthusiasm, which you can't say about other books I have looked at.
>Cheers all, Emily Tall
>
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