Books in the Anthem Series on Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies series

The pursuit of collective happiness was considered a utopian ideal that structured many aspects of Soviet culture, a fact recognized by numerous scholars in various disciplines ranging from cultural and literary studies to sociology and political science. Several groundbreaking studies in the literary and cultural history of the former Soviet Union have changed our understanding of the Soviet past. However, none of these studies has paid attention to an important theme in the cultural history of Soviet society - the pursuit of happiness. Although specialists in Soviet culture repeatedly invoke various manifestations of happiness in works of literature and film in their research, it has yet to be investigated as the subject of a full-fledged independent study. 'Petrified Utopia' redresses this inexplicable omission. This collection of essays introduces the Western reader to the most representative ideas of happiness, and the common practices of its pursuit that shaped Soviet everyday life and cultural discourse from the early post-revolutionary years to the later period of Stalinist and post-Stalinist culture. The collection presents different manifestations of happiness in literature and visual culture - from children's literature to the official and high literary cannon, from architecture to fine arts, from postcards to cookbooks, and from the culture of consumerism to product-paradise in Soviet posters. 'Petrified Utopia' features articles by the leading specialists in the study of Soviet culture from the UK, the US, Germany and Italy, and addresses the perplexing lack of scholarship on this important issue.

'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.

'Politics and the Theory of Language in the USSR 1917-1938' provides ground-breaking research into the relationship between linguistic theory and politics during the first two decades of the USSR.

The collection is comprised of twelve scholarly essays written by leading Chekhov specialists from around the world. Each essay analyses an interpretation of Chekhov by one of three prominent Russian thinkers of the Silver Age of Russian culture - Vasilii Rozanov, Dmitrii Merezhkovskii and Lev Shestov. This volume is particularly unique and valuable in that its main focus is placed on the perception of Chekhov''s art by those who existed on the border between literary criticism and philosophy. This is complemented by a literary critique of their accounts, and therefore remains faithful to Chekhov''s poetics. The collection thus examines the hitherto under-researched relationship between the origins and the results of the cultural phase that we now refer to as the Silver Age, and focuses specifically on the complex connections between Chekhov''s legacy and the Russian culture of that period. Through its stress on the philosophical perception of Chekhov, this book offers a thematically consistent and systematic revelation of new dimensions to Chekhov''s creative heritage. The essays are supplemented by biographical accounts of Rozanov, Merezhkovskii and Shestov.

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

'Petrified Utopia' redresses the lack of scholarship on the issue of the pursuit of collective happiness in Soviet culture, and presents a collection of essays that discuss different manifestations of happiness in literature and visual culture.

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

'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.

'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.

'Politics and the Theory of Language in the USSR 1917-1938' provides ground-breaking research into the relationship between linguistic theory and politics during the first two decades of the USSR.

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.

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

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

The struggle for Chechnya has come to international prominence in recent years through a string of high-profile atrocities such as the hostage seizures at Beslan and the Dubrovka theatre IN Moscow. For the first time, Western, Russian and Chechen perspectives on the conflict are brought together in a single, authoritative new volume, in which leading experts from all sides of the crisis provide a unique insight into its causes and contexts. Chechnya: from Past to Future creates a historical framework against which the most pressing issues raised by the Chechen struggle are considered, including the rights and wrongs of Chechen secessionism, the role of Islamic and Western international agencies in defending human rights, the conduct of the war, changing perceptions of the war against the backdrop of international terrorism, democracy in Chechnya itself and the uncertain fate of democracy in Russia as a whole.

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.

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