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The Carpatho-Rusyns are central European people, numbering approximately 1.2 million, who live within the borders of five states: Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, and Hungary. They have never had a state of their own. Disregarded and suppressed by most governments that ruled over them in the past, the Rusyn people have had to fight to retain their identity, culture, and language. This work is an attempt to redress the loss of historical memory and knowledge caused by decades of repression by investigating and explaining the historical past and culture of Rusyns in all countries where they live, including immigrant communities in the United States, Canada, and Yugoslavia.

The encyclopedia contains over 1,100 alphabetically arranged entries in areas such as individuals, organizations, political parties, periodicals, historical terms, geographic regions, historical events, and on themes such as architecture, archaeology, cinema, communism, ethnography, geneaology, geography and economy, historiography, history, the internet, language, literature, nationalism, printing and publishing, and radio and television. The first encyclopedic work on Rusyns to appear in English, this book has laready proven to be an indispensable resource for European and Slavic studies specialists, and for general readers interested in international relations and nationalism.

The Revised and Expanded Edition has been fully updated: New data and references have been provided for most existing entries ans many entirely new entries have been added.

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After decades of official atheism, a religious renaissance swept through much of the former Soviet Union beginning in the late 1980s. The Calvinist-like austerity and fundamentalist ethos that had evolved among sequestered and frequently persecuted Soviet evangelicals gave way to a charismatic embrace of ecstatic experience, replete with a belief in faith healing. Catherine Wanner's historically informed ethnography, the first book on evangelism in the former Soviet Union, shows how once-marginal Ukrainian evangelical communities are now thriving and growing in social and political prominence. Many Soviet evangelicals relocated to the United States after the fall of the Soviet Union, expanding the spectrum of evangelicalism in the United States and altering religious life in Ukraine. Migration has created new transnational evangelical communities that are now asserting a new public role for religion in the resolution of numerous social problems.

Hundreds of American evangelical missionaries have engaged in "church planting" in Ukraine, which is today home to some of the most active and robust evangelical communities in all of Europe. Thanks to massive assistance from the West, Ukraine has become a hub for clerical and missionary training in Eurasia. Many Ukrainians travel as missionaries to Russia and throughout the former Soviet Union. In revealing the phenomenal transformation of religious life in a land once thought to be militantly godless, Wanner shows how formerly socialist countries experience evangelical revival. Communities of the Converted engages issues of migration, morality, secularization, and global evangelism, while highlighting how they have been shaped by socialism. ... Read more

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The Road from Letichev presents the history of the area through the eyes of individuals who lived there. The Letichev District (Podolia) of Ukraine was a microcosm of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. It was the home of the Baal Shem Tov and the cradle of the Chasidic movement. This book is, in part, dedicated to the 300th anniversary of his birth.

The book’s purpose is to document what was destroyed in the Holocaust. Although the Soviet experience in the Holocaust is relatively rare in modern literature, no understanding of the Holocaust is truly complete without an understanding of what the Nazis took away from the world. Through the testimonials from survivors of the Holocaust we learn new information about the horrors of the Nazi occupation on Soviet soil.

Richly illustrated, more than 8300 individuals are indexed, including more than 600 unique Jewish surnames from Letichev District. The first of its kind, it provides a complete encyclopedia of the rabbis who traveled The Road from Letichev, plus a detailed description of synagogues--most of which are now destroyed.

Interwoven into the fabric of Jewish life are songs, food, folklore, health, education and crime. The best description of a Jewish agricultural colony to date is detailed. On a tragic note, new information is provided on the 1648 Khmelnitsky massacres, as well as the pogroms of 1882, 1903-7, and 1919-21.

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Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-1895), whose name has been immortalised in the term masochism, is known today predominantly for his novel "Venus in Furs" and for his tales of dominant women and suffering men. This collection features some of his best-known Jewish tales which display the author's warm sense of humanity as well as his considerable sense of humour. Sacher-Masoch's unusual ability to capture the essence of a person or place with a telling detail brings the vanished world of Galician Jewry back to life in all its splendour and squalor, mixing the greys, browns, and blacks of European Realism with the bright, sparkling colours of legend, myth, fairy tale, and tradition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

It is an introduction to a new branch of scholarly inquiry.
One of the most substantial political sciense, geopilitical,andphilosophical research in contemporary Ukraine. The book is a joint effortof Ukraine's independent intellectuals (Yevhen BYSTRYTSKY, Serhiy MAKEYEV,Oleksandr DERGACHOV) and leading scholars from the US (Zbigniew BRZEZINSKI,Sherman W. GARNETT, James E. MACE), Great Britain (Markian BILYNSKY),France (Georges MINK, Jean-Charles SZUREK), Canada (Anna MAKOLKIN), Germany(Aleksandr ZINOVIEV), and other countries.

The volume offered, asone of the first attempts at interdisciplinary research in this area, isbut an attempt at achieving an intellectual breakthrough in the socialsciences. It is an endeavor to find the theoretical linchpin, without whichit would be impossible to discern the trends of political thought andcritically examine the political realities and contradictions inpostcommunism.

The most outstanding part is "The politicalphilosophy of the postcommunist era" mainly by Yevhen BYSTRYTSKY. Theauthor attempts to offer a new methodology for political philosophy of thepostcommunist period.

As such it is an introduction to a new branchof scholarly inquiry, an attempt to analyze and understand the new world inwhich we live. ... Read more

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This book goes farther than any previous work in uncovering the historical Israel ben Eliezerknown as the Ba'al Shem Tov, or the Beshtthe eighteenth-century Polish-Jewish mystic who profoundly influenced the shape of modern Judaism. As the progenitor of Hasidism, the Ba'al Shem Tov is one of the key figures in Jewish history; to understand him is to understand an essential element of modern Jewish life and religion.Because evidence about his life is scanty and equivocal, the Besht has long eluded historians and biographers. Much of what is believed about him is based on stories compiled more than a generation after his death, many of which serve to mythologize rather than describe their subject. Rosman's study casts a bright new light on the traditional stories about the Besht, confirming and augmenting some, challenging others. By concentrating on accounts attributable directly to the Besht or to contemporary eyewitnesses, Rosman provides a portrait drawn from life rather than myth. In addition, documents in Polish and Hebrew discovered by Rosman during the research for this book enable him to give the first detailed description of the cultural, social, economic, and political context of the Ba'al Shem Tov's life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A new classic in Hasidic history
Professor Rosman succeeds at portraying the Ba'al Shem Tov, Israel ben Eliezer of Miedzyboz, in his environment of the Polish-Lithuanian shtetls and in the midst of the politics and economics of the Jewish kahal, and the Polish, post-Russo-Swedish War nobility. He also succeeds in separating the BeShT fables from the realities, and succinctly disproves the authenticity of the "BeShT's letters." The author also delves into the roots of the Besht's power and his role in the community.

It was interesting to read about the fights for power between butchers and merchants (and tailors); the kahal's issuance of residency permits to only working Jews; Miedzyboz's mid Century recession (1745); and the fact that one-sixth of Jewish households were led by widowed women.Rosman lays a good foundation in his biography by placing the idea of ecstatic religions and the mystical healers into historical context. It was not uncommon for Ba'al Shemtovs and practical Kabbalists to exist in early 18th Century Europe. For example, Rabbi Hirsh Frankel of Ansbach, Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschuetz, Hillel Ba'al Shem, Joel Halpern of Zamosc, Samuel Essingen and Joseph of Jerusalem were a few other contemporary healers, amulet makers, and exorcists. Rosman also discusses the pre-Besht existence of hasidim. These separatist and ascetic hasidim existed prior to the Beshtian brand of new Hasidism. I think that this book may be a new foundation for future studies in Hasidism, and will be up there with Martin Buber and Gershom Scholem's works. ... Read more

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Paul Celan, one of the greatest poets of the post-Holocaust decades, strove to utter the unspeakable. In his literary struggle to respond to the Holocaust, he exploded literary traditions and, out of their residue, created a new poetry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Encyclopedic in its Scope of Ukrainian Minstrelsy, Minstrel Rites and Songs--should be in Libraries, both public and personal!
Best book prizes for Ukrainian Minstrels: And the Blind Shall Sing, include:Kovaliv prize (an international award), 1997 and American Association for Ukrainian Studies book prize, 2000.

Additionally, Professor Natalie O. Kononenko's scholarly study is the first in M.E. Sharpe's series on `Folklores and Folk Cultures of Eastern Europe.'As Series Editor Linda J. Ivanits of the Department of Slavic Languages at Pennsylvania State University states:Dr. Kononenko's text "is a model study with which to launch this series; it illuminates a fascinating, and for a Western public, little known tradition of oral poetry.The focus is on the performers, the kobzari and lirnyky of the Ukrainian countryside, but the study also includes new translations of the basic songs of their repertory."

As the curriculum vitae of author Natalie O. Kononenko, Ph.D., attests, she's an expert in the field of folklore and folk performers, and as such, showcases salient and little-known information in an intriguing and enthralling manner.Since 1998, she has been Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia.Her doctorate was granted jointly by the departments of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures of Harvard University in 1976.Professor Kononenko's Dissertation Title was "The Turkish Minstrel Tale Tradition." With an M.A. from the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, 1969 and a B.A. from the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Radcliffe College, 1967, she also attended Cornell University during 1963-65.

Professor Kononenko's distinctions and awards include:Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in the United States, elected 2000; Raven Society, University of Virginia Literary, Academic, and Service Honorary, elected 1999; Shevchenko Scientific Society, Ukrainian Academic Honorary, elected 1998; Best book prizes for Ukrainian Minstrels: And the Blind Shall Sing: Kovaliv prize (an international award), 1997; American Association for Ukrainian Studies book prize, 2000; University of Virginia Alumni Association Young Teacher Award, 1979 (first woman to receive this award); Omicron Delta Kappa, National Leadership Honorary, elected 1982; and, Faculty Senate of the University of Virginia, 1982-86.

This volume is very aptly edited by Series Editor Linda J. Ivanits of the Department of Slavic Languages at Pennsylvania State University, who states in the book's Foreword, that the purpose of the `Folklores and Folk Cultures of Eastern Europe' series is to offer a wide range of primary texts and scholarly works on major subjects in Eastern European folklore and folk culture to the English-speaking public.

Unique features of Ukrainian minstrelsy include:1) blindness, which was obligatory; in neighboring countries, singers were sighted; 2) an elaborate guild system (this is detailed in chapters on the evolution of the system, links with beggars' guilds, and the Orthodox Church); and, 3) the extensiveness of the repertory of the Ukrainian singers.

In her Preface, Dr. Kononenko states that although her work began as a study of texts (when she arrived in Ukraine in 1987, her intention was to compile a complete edition of Ukrainian epic poetry--the dumy), the end product became an investigation of the performers--a special type of minstrel--the blind medicant.

The book is divided into two parts.The first part is comprised of ten chapters:The Singers; The Traditional Repertory:An Overview; Common Stereotypes of Minstrels; Blindness; Minstrel Institutions:The Brotherhoods or Guilds; Apprenticeship, Training, and Initiation; Learning Minstrel Songs; Minstrel Guilds and the Orthodox Church; Minstrelsy and Martyrdom:The Influence of Religious Song on the Epic; and Epic and Lament:The Influence of Kobzar on Lirnyky.

The Conclusion (of part one) states, in part, that Ukrainian minstrelsy was "probably always linked to the sacred"; minstrelsy was also a social welfare institution; and, minstrels' songs were their exclusive property.Following the Conclusion are twenty-four captioned archival black-and-white photos from the 1873 to 1995 (some are undated) of kobzars and lirnyks with their guides, spouses, or siblings.They are placed on the pages as duos.

Part two details minstrel rites and songs.The texts are as enthralling as the songs:A Religious Festival:The Description of a Religious Festival Given by Valerian Borzhkovskii in His Article "Lirniki"; The Minstrel Initiation Rite:The Eastern Version of the Rite Supplied by the Kobzar Trykhon Mahadyn; The Eastern Version of the Initiation Rite Supplied by Terentii Parkhomenko; The Western Version of the Initiation Rite Supplied by the Lirnyk Iakiv Zlatarskyi.

Part two continues with the Songs, which are broken down as follows:The Begging Song and the Song of Gratitude (these were performed on arrival by the minstrel at someone's home); Religious Songs (these were the most important part of the minstrel's repertory and each minstrel tried to learn as many of these as possible); Epics (Dumy) (these were considered serious and suitable for pubic performance--they could be sung at a fair, in a home or at a religious festival); Historical Songs (these differed from epic songs in form and tended to have couplet rhyme; they were suitable for most performance occasions); Satirical Songs (these were seldom sung in public, but were often performed in private homes, entertaining guests at weddings and other joyful occasions); and, Secret Songs (only guild members were allowed to hear these songs, which were sung at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the minstrel guild and after initiations).For a listing of the songs discussed, please see images.

Following the songs, which are not only given in their entirety, but also discussed in-depth, is a section called Bibliographic Essay.Extremely informative, the sections are:Early Ukrainian Folkloristics:Interest in the Text Rather Than the Performer; Treatment of the Oral Text by Early Scholars:The Belief That Texts Are Shaped by History Rather Than by the Performer; Information about Performers:Growing Understanding of the Oral Process and the First Study of a Specific Kobzar; Early Information on Minstrels; The Major Studies of Kobzari and Lirnyky:The Late Nineteenth Century:The Work of Martynovych and Other Scholars; The Early Twentieth Century and the Twelfth Archeological Congress; The Work of Speranskii; Sound Recordings from Kobzari and Lirnyky; The Last Great Period of Ukrainian Folkloristics Prior to Stalin; and, The New Kobzari.

An Appendix with a Tables and Charts follows.It Includes:Table 1:List of Married Men; Chart I:Apprenticeship (minstrel's name, age at beginning of apprenticeship and years of study); Chart II:Apprenticeship (Speranskii's data) (minstrel's name, age when minstrel became blind; age at beginning of apprenticeship and years of study); and Chart III:Minstrel Earnings.

The Notes section gives detailed notes on various chapters in the book, and is followed by:Notes to Songs and Bibliographic Essay, an extensive Bibliography, and a twelve-page Index.

A hearty five stars plus for an enthralling study of not only Ukrainian minstrels, but also a history of Ukraine, as it was experience by them.A must for every library, public and personal!

Addendum: Readers, you're invited to visit each of my reviews--most of them have photos that I took in Ukraine (over 600)--you'll learn lots about Ukraine and Ukrainians. The image gallery shows smaller photos, which are out of sequence. The preferable way is to see each review through my profile page since photos that are germane to that particular book/VHS/DVD are posted there with notes and are in sequential order.

To visit my reviews: click on my pseudonym, Mandrivnyk, to get to my profile page; click on the tab called review; scroll to the bottom of the section, and click on see all reviews; click on each title, and on the left-hand side, click on see all images. The thumbnail images at the top of the page show whether photos have notes; roll your mouse over the image to find notes posted.

Also, you're invited to visit my Listmania lists, which have materials sorted by subject matter.

Outstanding history of the Ukrainian minstrel tradition.
The "Ukrainian Minstrels" by the Harvard-trained scholar and folklore authority, Natalie Kononenko, who currently teaches at the University of Virginia, is enormously interesting. Among the many intriguing characteristics of the Ukrainian folk tradition is the fact that Ukrainian epics were sung by a special type of minstrel - the blind mendicant. Yes, blindness was obligatory! These minstrelswere organized into professional guilds that set standards for training and performance and provided the singers with protection and support throughout their careers. Natalie Kononenko's book is a revelation of a distinctive folk tradition and a little-known social order. One learns about the difference between the kobzari and lirniki, since there were two types of minstrels, who played different types of instruments,about the unique relationship between the established minstrel and his apprentice, the duration of training, and the extensive and fascinating repertoire one had to master. The book containsmany rare photographs of minstrels. One also learns about a great tragedy which befell the Ukrainian minstrels in the 30's at the hands of the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin, who like the villain in a Greek tragedy, organized a bogus minstrel convention in Moscow, where he had them arrested and murdered, and their instruments destroyed. Sort of a pre-cursor to the massacre of the Polish officers by Stalin at Katyn during WWII period. Highly recommended to any folklore enthusiast. A real treat! ... Read more

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The Crimean War (1854-1856) was the first to be fought in the era of modern communications, and it had a profound influence on British literary culture, bringing about significant shifts in perceptions of heroism and national identity. Stefanie Markovits explores how mid-Victorian writers and artists reacted to an unpopular war: one in which home-front reaction was conditioned by an unprecedented barrage of information arriving from the front. This history had formal consequences. How does patriotic poetry translate the blunders of the Crimea into verse? How does the shape of literary heroism adjust to a war that produced not only heroes but a heroine, Florence Nightingale? How does the predominant mode of journalism affect artistic representations of 'the real'? By looking at the journalism, novels, poetry, and visual art produced in response to the war, Stefanie Markovits demonstrates the tremendous cultural force of this relatively short conflict. ... Read more

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At the end of the nineteenth century, Canada opened its western frontier to mass immigration, and from this, the pioneer legacy was born. "Zhorna" is a testament to this legacy and chronicles the fascinating but lesser-known aspects of the Ukrainian culture and pioneering experience. Author Roman Fodchuk takes the reader on a journey back to a time when survival was a matter of resourcefulness, and ingenuity often meant the difference between success and failure. Although they might at first glance seem mundane, the everyday items of these pioneers tell a story of initiative, tenacity, and the close relationship between themselves and nature. Fodchuk focuses on items ranging from clothing, kitchen gadgets and cooking utensils to building techniques and the specialised application of hand-made agricultural tools. Based on exhaustive research, interviews, and personal reminiscences, this analysis treats the subject with a passion and respect that demonstrates a knowledge of the Ukrainian culture rarely found in traditional ethnographic studies.Complete with finely rendered line drawings and detailed photo, "Zhorna" is the unique and lasting record of the Ukrainian pioneer experience. ... Read more

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This is the first comprehensive study of the origins and early uses of Russian writing. Simon Franklin examines a wide range of writings, from the parchment manuscripts of the Orthodox Church, through the Novgorod birch-bark documents, to inscriptions on stone and metal. He analyzes the texts from a variety of perspectives, and presents fascinating insight into this crucial aspect of Russian history. The impressive scholarship and idiosyncratic wit of the volume commend it to specialists in Russian history and Russian literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Important early language study
Early Rus is a difficult area to find good English language studies.This work fills a need for better understanding of language development in the Slavic lands.The books covers a lot of language and time period ground.This cross roads has a number of languages represented and some interesting cultural aspects to consider.

One of the more interesting aspects is the small collection of images of these earliest texts.The oldest piece is actually a Hebrew text from Kiev with notations found in the Cairo Genizah collection.The most interesting are the two birch bark letters.One on a dispute over a slave and the other an official apology letter.

The section on magic in writing as also quite interesting. ... Read more

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Greek colonization of the Black Sea area is a hotly disputed aspect of the Black Sea archaeology, and the date of the first appearance of Greeks in this part of the ancient world is far from clear. The limited evidence gives little idea of the character of these colonies and their physical appearance. This volume deals with Berezan, the first Greek colony established in the northern Black Sea, thus also the first of a ring of Greek city-states which linked the Western world with the vast steppe territory of the Scythians. For more than 100 years archaeologists from Russia and the Ukraine have been excavating this extraordinary island site. This is a synthesis of their work. It presents the history and archaelology of the site from its establishment in the 7th century BC down to the medieval period. ... Read more

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This new study, drawing its inspiration from "A History of Odessa", the "Last Italian Black Sea Colony" (The Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) and based on new archival findings, focuses on the cultural legacy of the Italian founders of this port city, shaped by nearly a century of Italian presence. This new contribution to European cultural history will be of interest to scholars of European, Italian, Russian and Ukrainian history, art historians and musicologists, as well as students of migration and multiculturalism. ... Read more

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post-soviet politics and history
it is refreshing to see a book that takes an untrodden path in discussing issues in russian and ukrainian transition after communism. first, the author believes it is important to look at these two countries together, rather than one by one. he thinks they are interconnected and dependent on one another for the success of their reform efforts. second, he says that history is important, since it influences current politics, and he combines historical analysis with the look at current events. finally, he looks at development of national identity in russia and ukraine on a broader plane than usual imperialism/nationalism discussions. not a bad reading for anyone interested in the area. ... Read more

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"To offer a broad historical and contemporary portrait of the European city Lviv, John Czaplicka has gathered together a wide range of scholars from the areas of historiography, history, art and architectural history, urban planning, literary history and criticism, and cultural history. Known variously over the centuries as Leopolis, Lwów, Lvov, and Lemberg, this city served as laboratory for the forging of modern Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian identities. Historically, Armenians, Germans, Jews, Poles, and Ukrainians interacted in this Galician and formerly Polish and Habsburg metropolis. The resulting confluence of cultures in this now Ukrainian city was at times violent, but each of the ethnic groups and religions residing in the city contributed to its urban, urbane, and truly European character. This volume emphasizes the richness of the local cultural heritage.

The collection derives from revised papers presented at a conference sponsored jointly by the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies and the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University. Other authors were invited to round out the picture of a European city in the shifting crosscurrents of cultures.

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The Letichev District (Podolia) of Ukraine was a microcosm of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. But there were unique differences. It was the home of the Baal Shem Tov and the cradle of the Chasidic movement. This book is, in part, dedicated to the 300th anniversary of his birth.

The Road from Letichev presents the history of the area through the eyes of individuals who lived there. Interwoven into the fabric of Jewish life are songs, food, folklore, health, education and crime. A complete encyclopedia of the rabbis who traveled The Road from Letichev is provided, together with a detailed description of synagogues (most of which are now destroyed)--the first of its kind.

The best description of a Jewish agricultural colony to date is detailed. On a tragic note, new information is provided on the 1648 Khmelnitsky massacres, as well as the pogroms of 1882, 1903-7, and 1919-21. Finally, the whole purpose for the book is to document what was destroyed in the Holocaust. No understanding of the Holocaust is truly complete without an understanding of what the Nazis took away from the world.

The Road from Letichev provides this insight. Through the testimonials from survivors of the Holocaust we learn new information about the horrors of the Nazi occupation on Soviet soil. The Soviet experience in the Holocaust is relatively rare in the modern literature. Richly illustrated, more than 8300 individuals are indexed, including more than 600 unique Jewish surnames from Letichev District. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Road from Letichev, Vol.2
My mother, who grew up in Deraznia (on the Road to Letichev), died a few years ago. Here, in this book, I found out so much about her life in the Ukraine. It made me feel as if I was there, sharing that life with her!!! What an amazing book!
The work that the authors put into creating this book must have been phenomenal!! ... Read more

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Nedashkivska's textbook will encourage students' interest in learning, with the goal of building proficiency in the language and knowledge of Ukrainian culture and society. This textbook is suitable for a full course of studies in Advanced Ukrainian (i.e., third year of university study). It contains discussions of more advanced grammar points, reading material, assignments for practising and mastering vocabulary and grammar, illustrations and cultural information, a grammar summary, and a summary of useful sentences for building conversational skills. ... Read more

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Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, nationality groups have claimed sovereignty in the new republics bearing their names. With the ascendance of these titular nationality groups, Russian speakers living in the post-Soviet republics face a radical crisis of identity. That crisis is at the heart of David D. Laitin's keenly awaited book.

Laitin portrays these Russian speakers as a "beached diaspora" since the populations did not cross international borders; the borders themselves receded. He asks what will become of these populations. Will they learn the languages of the republics in which they live and prepare their children for assimilation? Will they return to a homeland many have never seen? Or will they become loyal citizens of the new republics while maintaining a Russian identity? Through questions such as these and on the basis of ethnographic field research, discourse analysis, and mass surveys, Laitin analyzes trends in four post-Soviet republics: Estonia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.

Laitin concludes that the "Russian-speaking population" is a new category of identity in the post-Soviet world. This conglomerate identity of those who share a language is analogous, Laitin suggests, to such designations as "Palestinian" in the Middle East and "Hispanic" in the United States. The development of this new identity has implications both for the success of the national projects in these states and for interethnic peace. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well written and extremely interesting
This is a carefully researched, thoughtful and well-written examination ofthe Russian speaking population in the "near abroad" since thebreak up of the Soviet Union.While my experience is largely withLithuania, his discussion of the Russian speaking population in Estonia andLatvia seemed insightful. As a minor criticism, or perhaps more as a termof reference for readers, I should note that Laitin seemed more sympatheticto the diaspora Russians than to the local populations.His discussion ofBaltic events struck me as distinctly pro-ethnic Russian, although notoutrageously so.Persons with Baltic ties may disagree with some hisviews, but they will still find them interesting. ... Read more

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"... scholarship of the highest order.... Kendall Bailes's book is destined to become a most valuable contribution to our knowledge of Russian and Soviet culture. It is insightful and eloquent." -- Douglas R. Weiner

"... an insightful, richly researched portrait of Vernadsky's life and times... " -- American Scientist

"This biography... not only tells a story full of human drama but also one rich with insights into Russia's higher-education and scientific-research establishments." -- Washington Post Book World

"[This] concise book, with references that stop short of the Gorbachev era, will be the foundation for all future scholarship in English on Vernadsky." -- Nature

"In this insightful exploration of Vernadsky's legacy, Kendall Bailes unveils a creative scholar-activist whose life and work speak more clearly about his time than our own." -- Science

"The Bailes book... is fascinating... Read it!" -- World Affairs Report

"Kendall Bailes has left us with a vivid portrayal of the life and times of Vladimir Vernadsky." -- The Russian Review

"It offers a penetrating analysis of social realities in twentieth-century Russia, which helped create an intellectual culture dominated by ideological extremes." -- American Historical Review

This first full-length English-language biography of Vladimir Vernadsky (1863--1945), one of the leading Russian intellectual figures of the twentieth century, focuses on the interaction between science and politics during Russia's revolutionary age.

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The Kharkiv School of landscape painting, although known to art historians in Ukraine, has received little attention elsewhere. Here the works of four major Ukrainian painters of this period are presented: Serhiy Vasylkivsky, Mykhailo Tkachenko, Petro Levchenko and Mykhailo Berkos. The paintings are from the collection housed in the Kharkiv Art Museum. In her foreword, Professor Valentyna Nemtsova distinguishes the importance of the Kharkiv School and its influence on Ukrainian painting of the 20th century. The book is highly recommended for art historians and art professionals with an interest in Ukrainian and Russian art. In Ukrainian and English, 272 pages, hardcover. Printed in Ukraine. ISBN 978-966-7845-44-5. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unbelievably gorgeous art, beautifully designed book, and even good English!
I am not an art historian or qualified art critic. However, I've collected art for nearly 30 years, I've translated for several Ukrainian art books, and I do book layout (and some design) for a living. It used to be heartbreaking to see the art books coming out of Ukraine: bad binding, iffy reproductions, and atrocious translations --- although the art itself was almost without exception very good.

It's amazing to consider that the four artists' works in this hefty volume --- from the classical era in the "museum style" --- are all from the collections of a single institution. What a treasure trove! And believe me, there are art museums in Lviv and Donetsk, Odesa and Kyiv that are full of equally astonishing paintings, hidden away from the rest of the world throughout the Soviet era and now forgotten. Thank you to Valentyna Myzghina, selfless director of the Kharkiv Art Museum (and others like her), who have toiled in their mouldering institutions for a pittance lo these many years. Now the world might accord their priceless collections the accolades they truly deserve.

This is a world-class coffee-table book, with absolutely fabulous art and extremely well put together. I recommend it unreservedly. ... Read more