Bücher der Reihe Anthem Series on Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies

A comprehensive exploration into the fractious historical and contemporary relationship of these two influential political powers.

This study offers a literary analysis and theological evaluation of the Christian themes in the five great novels of Dostoevsky - 'Crime and Punishment', 'The Idiot', 'The Adolescent', 'The Devils' and 'The Brothers Karamazov'. Dostoevsky's ambiguous treatment of religious issues in his literary works strongly differs from the slavophile Orthodoxy of his journalistic writings. In the novels Dostoevsky deals with Christian basic values, which are presented via a unique tension between the fictionality of the Christian characters and the readers' experience of the existential reality of their religious problems.This study is based on a balanced method of literary analysis and theological evaluation of the texts, avoiding free theological association as well as hermeneutical mixing with the non-literary writings of Dostoevsky. The study starts by discussing the main recent studies of Dostoevsky's religion. It then describes Dostoevsky's original literary method in dealing with religious issues - his use of paradoxes, contradictions and irony. 'Christian Fiction and Religious Realism in the Novels of Dostoevsky' ultimately deconstructs Dostoevsky as an Orthodox writer, and reveals that the Christian themes in his novels are not ecclesiastical or confessionally theological ones, but instead are expressions of a fundamentally Christian anthropology and biblical ethics.

A comprehensive exploration into the fractious historical and contemporary relationship of these two influential political powers.

Based on detailed ethnographic material, New Lithuania in Old Hands analyzes the impact that European Union membership has had upon the countrys ageing small-scale farmers. Addressing the highly relevant themes of European Union enlargement and the Return to Europe, this book describes how Lithuanias EU membership has been a far cry from the scenarios of wealth and overabundance once promised.On the contrary, membership of the EU has in many instances resulted in a return to subsistence production, increased insecurity and a reinforcement of kinship obligations. Within the agrarian sector, such changes threaten to have a large impact upon the future of family structures, and in turn, the future of the farming demographic as a whole.While political forces have attempted to create a New Lithuania in light of Europes geopolitical agenda, it has been the countrys ageing Soviet generation that has actually brought into effect the restructuring of the agricultural sector. Thus, instead of treating the European Union as an elite project and voicing the support of various other parts of the population, New Lithuania in Old Hands shows how the broader parts of the rural population have been affected by and engaged in the processes of change that followed Lithuanias accession to the EU.

A witty overview of humour in Russian culture.

'Bulgaria and Europe: Shifting Identities' offers a comprehensive analysis of Bulgaria's relationship with the European continent, focusing particularly on its accession to the EU and the aftermath.

A remarkable collection of essays, considering every angle of the Chechen conflict.

Makes the case for Kosova's independence; a challenging and unique book to inspire serious debate.

'The Voice of the People' presents a series of essays on literary aspects of the pan-European folk revival from the late eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth.

¿Bakhtin and his Others¿ offers fresh theoretical insights into Bakhtin¿s ideas on (inter)subjectivity and temporality, research into his theoretical backgrounds, and case studies where these insights are employed in literary analysis.

This new volume, by a team of international scholars, explores aspects of population displacement and statehood at a crucial juncture in modern European history, when the entire continent took on the aspect of a ''laboratory atop a mass graveyard'' (Tomas Masaryk). The topic of state-building has acquired a new actuality in recent years, following the collapse of the USSR and the ''Soviet bloc'' and in view of the complex, often violent, territorial and ethnic conflicts which have ensued. Many of the current dilemmas and tragedies of the region have their origins in the aftermath of World War I, when newly independent nation states, struggling to emerge from the rubble of the former Russian empire, first sought to define themselves in terms of population, territory and citizenship. Homelands examines the interactions of forced migration, state construction and myriad emerging forms of social identity. It opens up a fresh perspective on twentieth-century history and throws new light on present-day political, humanitarian and scholarly issues of crucial concern to political scientists, sociologists, geographers, refugee welfare workers, policymakers and others.

This exciting addition to Dostoevsky studies deals with the religious dimension of the novelist's life and fiction. Malcolm Jones takes a fresh reading of Dostoevsky's representation of religion in his fictional world, that allows for both mystery and fear. The author argues that the spiritual map of human experience that Dostoevsky offers includes only the occasional small island of serenity in vast, turbulent oceans of doubt, rebellion, rejection, indifference and disbelief. Dostoevsky is also viewed as an artist, revealing glimpses of salvation through subversive narrative techniques and destabilized, vulnerable characters. Dostoevsky's fictional characters experience the dread of a meaningless void as well as a desperate longing for the restorative binding idea that religion offers. 'Dostoevsky and the Dynamics of Religious Experience' offers a balanced and authoritative argument. The book is structured through six clearly defined and self-reliant essays that take into account past and current criticism and offer a close textual analysis of Dostoevskys works, including 'The Double', 'Notes from Underground', 'Crime and Punishment', 'The Idiot', 'The Devils' and an in-depth study of 'The Brothers Karamazov'. This work is a major contribution to the study of Dostoevsky and Russian Literature in Europe, the USA, Russia and throughout the world.

A comparative study of the famines of Ireland (1845?51) and Ukraine (1932?33), and how historical experiences of famine were translated into narratives that supported political claims for independent national statehood.

'Bakhtin and his Others' offers fresh theoretical insights into Bakhtin's ideas on (inter)subjectivity and temporality, research into his theoretical backgrounds, and case studies where these insights are employed in literary analysis.

This new edition retains the features of the first edition that made it a popular choice in universities and colleges throughout the US, Canada and around the world. Moss's accessible history includes full treatment of everyday life, the role of women, rural life, law, religion, literature and art. In addition, it provides many other features that have proven successful with both professors and students, including: a well-organized and clearly written text, references to varying historical perspectives, numerous illustrations and maps that supplement and amplify the text, fully updated bibliographies accompanying each chapter as well as a general bibliography of more comprehensive works, a glossary, and chronological and genealogical lists. Moss's 'A History of Russia' will appeal to academics, students and general readers alike.

In this fully updated second edition of 'A History of Russia' Vol. II, Walter G. Moss has significantly revised his text and bibliography to reflect new research findings and controversies on numerous subjects. He has also brought the history up-to-date by revising the post-Soviet material, which now covers events from the end of 1991 up to the present day. This new edition retains the features of the successful first edition that have made it a popular choice in universities and colleges throughout the US, Canada and around the world. Mosss accessible history includes full treatments of politics, economics, foreign affairs and wars, and also of everyday life, women, legal developments, religion, literature, art and popular culture. In addition, it provides many other features that have proven successful with both academics and students, including a well-organized and clearly written text, references to varying historical viewpoints, numerous illustrations and maps that supplement and amplify the text, fully updated bibliographies accompanying each chapter as well as a general bibliography of more comprehensive works, a glossary and a chronology of important events. Moss's 'A History of Russia' will appeal to academics, students and general readers alike.

'Global Villages: Rural and Urban Transformations in Contemporary Bulgaria' aims to broaden the study of globalization from urban to rural contexts, exploring its effects through case studies from postsocialist Bulgaria.

Outlines a fresh and coherent framework, reviewing Akhmatova's oeuvre in its totality for the first time.