April 18, 2023

De-Russianization of UK Institutions


De-Russianization of UK Institutions
Entrance to the Pushkin House, London. Pushkin House Rafy, Wikimedia Commons.

Since the start of Putin's war, many in the West have been given cause to rethink their perspective on Russian literature and culture. This debate is reflected, as The Moscow Times reports, in pressure mounting against London's Pushkin House to change its name.

Self-described as a Russian "independent cultural center," Pushkin House has existed since 1954 and is the oldest and most significant institution of its kind in the UK. On the anniversary of the invasion in February 2023, the organization released a statement relaying the perspectives of various writers and academics on its continued operations.

Though the House is praised for, for instance, its role as "a vital space for reflection, interrogation and debate" during the war, University College London professor Dr. Michał Murawski calls for change, beginning with a symbolic "de-Pushkinization." For him, Pushkin's image now merely serves "to justify, decorate, conceal or smokescreen the trans-historical, unceasing Russian reality of war, rape, murder, and genocide."

Many in the UK believe that studying Russian culture is inappropriate at this time. The London-based Russian and Eastern European culture magazine Calvert Journal ceased operations as the invasion began in February 2022, stating that "we cannot in good conscience continue our work ... like business as usual."

Others, however, fear that such efforts are ultimately reductive. University of Glasgow lecturer Ammon Cheskin recently argued to The Moscow Times that there is fear that the future of Russian Studies will be "students who see Russia as the enemy and want to study the enemy."

Ultimately, reconciling Russian studies with the Russian government's weaponization of culture may only be possible in retrospect. As The Moscow Times writes, "The fate of Russian studies as a discipline hinges on the outcome of the war."

You Might Also Like

Moscow on the Thames
  • September 01, 2010

Moscow on the Thames

History would have been much different if Queen Elizabeth had accepted a proposal from Ivan IV in the sixteenth century. Nonetheless, London today bears the stamp of centuries of Russo-British interaction.
Goodbye, Pushkin!
  • April 11, 2023

Goodbye, Pushkin!

The Ukrainian city of Poltava will remove statues of Pushkin and two Soviet generals following residents' protests.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955