Abstract / History

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<p> The Volga Germans assert a particular ethnic identity to articulate their complex history as a multinational community even in the absence of traditional practices in language, religious piety, and communal lifestyle. Across multiple migrations and settlements from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, the Volga Germans&rsquo; self-constructed group identity served historically as a tool with which to navigate uncertain politics of belonging. As subjects of imperial Russia&rsquo;s eighteenth-century colonization project the Volga Germans held a privileged legal status in accordance with their settlement in the Volga River region, but their subsequent loss of privileges under the reorganization and Russification of the modern Russian state in the nineteenth century compelled members of the group to immigrate to the Midwest in the United States where their distinct identity took its full form. The Volga Germans&rsquo; arrival on the Great Plains coincided with an era of mass global migration from 1846 to 1940, yet the conventional categories of immigrant identity that subsumed Volga Germans in archival records did not impede their drive for community preservation under a new unifying German-Russian identity. A contingent of Midwest Volga Germans migrated in 1881 to Albina, a railroad town across the Willamette River from Portland, Oregon where the pressures of assimilation ultimately disintegrated traditional ways of life&mdash;yet the community impulse to articulate its identity remained. Thus, while Germans are the single largest ethnic group in the U.S. today numbering forty-two million individuals, Portland&rsquo;s Volga German community nevertheless continues to distinguish itself ethnically through its nostalgia for a unique past.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation focuses on the relatively little-known and highly remote 18^th and 19^th century Russian colonies established in North America, attempts to gain a clearer vision of mostly undefined daily lifeways in the settlements via a search for traditional Russian behaviors, and weighs the impact of cultural isolation on those behaviors. In so doing, lessons-learned are considered as they apply to the enhancement of social justice in the isolated communities of the future, whether they be on this planet or beyond the gravitational pull of Earth.</p><p> Drawing upon a previously researched inventory of 18^th and 19^th century traditional Russian behaviors (which serves as a primary database for the study), two selected settlements are examined for possible traditional behavioral characteristics for Russian America as a whole. One of these is Novo-Arkhangel'sk (present-day Sitka, Alaska)&mdash;the colonial capital and Russian America's primary seaport&mdash;and the other is Kolmakovsky Redoubt, a small trading post located in the interior of Southwestern Alaska. The cultural isolation of each colony is made clear, as is the fact that Kolmakovsky Redoubt has been viewed as perhaps the most isolated community in all of Russia's North American possessions.</p><p> The research for this study has led to exciting results. A high percentage of traditional Russian behaviors found at each of the two sites was revealed to be in unmodified form, despite the settlements' cultural isolation from the motherland and resulting potential for acculturative activity. Specifically, out of 45 traditional behaviors identified for Novo-Arkhangel'sk, 41, or 91%, were seen to be unmodified; of the 25 traditional behaviors uncovered at Kolmakovsky Redoubt, 23, or 92%, were also determined to be unmodified. These high percentages are perhaps all the more surprising when one considers the potential of acculturative pressures surrounding the two Russian enclaves and emanating from indigenous Native societies.</p><p> The bottom line is that this study has opened a view of a part of Russian America not previously available, and endorses the use of the data retrieved for planning future isolated communities characterized by social justice-friendly environments.</p><p>

The purpose of this paper is to explore Soviet science fiction; that is, all science fiction published in Russia after 1917 to about 1967. The selection of literature from the 1960's was random; the selection from previous years was determined principally by its availability: about three-fourths of all the works examined belong to the last decade insofar as I can determine from publishing dates and critical sources; somewhat less than three-fourths of all the authors whose works were read wrote mainly in the post World War II era, and half of the novel-length works used in the preparation of the paper were published before World War II. It is impossible to ascertain if these proportions accurately reflect the varying production of science fiction during this period, but it is probably true that much more sf was published in the last decade in Russia than in previous years. What are the themes with which the authors of science fiction are occupied? Have they changed since the 'twenties? How closely does science fiction resemble the rest of Soviet literature? Has it become, as American science fiction after World War II became, a vehicle for social criticism? It is a rapidly growing body of literature that has just recently begun to attract serious consideration of its literary merits. It has a small but devoted audience. I intend to explain what this audience reads and evaluate the genre objectively and critically. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

A study of the German influence on the Russian Revolution in 1917, including the German-Bolshevik conspiracy and the treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

abstract: This research paper creates a modern score transcription of selected choral works by composer Alexander Chesnokov. The life and works of Alexander Chesnokov are almost completely unknown in the United States. A collection of his works is housed in the New York Public Library (NYPL). Selected transcripts from this collection provide insight into the works and style of Alexander Chesnokov. They may also serve as a study guide and point for further research and explorations into the life and compositions of this Russian composer. The sets of transcriptions within this paper were created from a microfilm copy from the NYPL's archival holdings. This study comprises transcriptions of selected scores, a discussion of errors and editorial choices, text translations, and a brief history of choral performance and style during pre-revolutionary Russia, the time period during which this composer lived and wrote. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2011

<p> The American Expeditionary Force, sent to Siberia in 1918, conducted operations other than war. The rationale for sending the American Expeditionary Force to Siberia was vague, but Wilson&rsquo;s instructions were to be as neutral as possible. The AEF&rsquo;s objectives were relatively ambiguous and therefore the chances for success were minimal. Nevertheless, the AEF proved to be surprisingly adept at the diplomacy required to maintain neutrality. The commanders of the AEF demonstrated the tact and skill necessary to prevent dangerous situations from escalating out of control. The success of the AEF offers a unique opportunity to learn what ground forces can accomplish without actively engaging in war. The overall failure of the intervention also shows the importance of detailed objectives and exit strategy prior to the start of any military operations.</p><p>

A BODY OUTSIDE THE KREMLIN is a historical mystery novel set in the Northern Camps of Special Significance, a Soviet Russian penal institution based in the Solovetsky Archipelago during the 1920s. The protagonist, working first with the camp authorities, then in spite of their disapproval, solves the murder of a fellow prisoner. In the process he improves his position within the camp, while also becoming hardened to the brutal necessities of camp life. Prior to the establishment of the penal camp, the Solovetsky Archipelago was the site of an important Russian Orthodox monastery, and the mystery proves to involve valuables, particularly icons, seized from the monks by the Soviet secret police. Thus the novel treats themes not only of statist repression, but also religious epiphany and the problems of true perception in a world of symbols.