Anna Zaczkowska "Cienie aryjskich przodków. Mitologia polityczna w Rosji"

 

Anna Zaczkowska 2016, "Cienie aryjskich przodków. Mitologia polityczna w Rosji" Wydawnictwo Naukowe "Śląsk" 424 str. (in Polish)

From the Introduction:

The influence of neopagan movements on contemporary Russian culture is linked to political changes that occurred after the fall of communism. Russian society sought new ideas to replace the discredited Soviet myths. The aim of my work is to examine contemporary political mythology in Russia, primarily based on neopagan texts and official ideology, which intersect and together shape popular culture [...].

It should be noted that both neopagan mythology and political mythology are present in contemporary Russian popular culture. This analysis is dedicated to the intriguing phenomenon of the interpenetration of political mythology, official propaganda, and neopaganism, which represents a significant current in modern Russian culture. Today, there is a kind of trend toward neopaganism in Russia. Many neopagan elements and themes can be found in popular culture—new literary genres [...] or musical styles [...] have emerged, drawing inspiration from how neopaganism has reinterpreted the cultural heritage of the ancient Slavs. The mythologies of neopagan movements constitute a form of Hobsbawm’s “invented tradition,” created to replace the communist vision of history at a moment of state crisis.

.

Table of Contents

I. Introduction / 7

1. Conceptualization of Basic Terms and the State of Research on Political Myth / 11
2. Research Methods and Techniques / 21

II. Political Myths / 26

1. The Myth of the Father / 26
   a) The Emperor / 28
   b) The Prince, Tsar, and Emperor / 41
   c) The Party Leader / 72
   d) The Contemporary Myth of the Father (President) / 101
2. The Myth of the Mother / 118
   a) The Great Mother Goddess. The Concept of Matriarchy / 118
   b) Reconstructions of the Religious Worldview of the Slavs (Mother Moist Earth) / 124
   c) The Orthodox Representation of Women and Motherhood. Ecclesia, Theotokos / 128
   d) The Church (Ecclesia) / 129
   e) The Mother of God. Theotokos / 132
   f) Holy Russia / 139
   g) The Contemporary Myth of the Mother (Popular Culture and Neopaganism) / 143

III. Russian Neopaganism: An Overview of Issues / 156

1. The State of Research on New Religious Movements / 156
   a) Wicca / 170
   b) The Volkisch Movement and Heathenry (Germanic Neopaganism) / 175
2. The Main Distinctive Features of Russian Neopaganism / 195
3. Eurasianism and the Doctrine of Russian Neopagan Groups / 203
4. Traditionalism and Traditionalist Philosophy in the Mythmaking Pursuits of Neopagans / 206
5. A Review of Selected Russian Neopagan Groups / 214
   a) The Book of Veles: The Sacred Text of Russian Neopagan Groups / 224
   b) The Influence of Boris Rybakov’s Views on the Ideology of Neopagan Groups / 237
   c) The Union of Slavic Communities of Slavic Native Faith (Союз Славянских Общин Славянской Родной Веры — ССО СРВ) / 246
   d) The Circle of Pagan Tradition (Круг Языческой Традиции — КЯТ) / 254
   e) Inglism (Ancient Russian Inglian Church of Orthodox Old Believers-Inglings —
   Инглиизм) / 265
6. Neopagan Ritual / 276
7. The Influence of Neopagans on Popular Culture / 282
   a) Popular Culture, Mass Culture, and Contemporary Participatory Culture / 282
   b) Distinctive Features of Slavic Fantasy: Slavic Fantasy as a Neopagan Literary Genre Based on Selected Works / 289
   • Racism and Colonialism in Fantasy / 306
   • Yuri Nikitin / 312
   • Maria Semyonova / 322
   • Sergey Alekseyev / 333
   • Viktor Pelevin / 343

IV. Distinctive Features of the Political Myth in Contemporary Russia / 350

1. The Anthropological Roots of Political Myth / 350
2. The Influence of Neopagan Mythmaking / 357
3. Popular Culture as a Form of Contemporary Invented Tradition / 366
4. The Russian Political Myth Based on Conservatism / 376
5. The Authoritarian Model of Power and Popular Culture / 380
6. Contemporary Mother Russia / 382

V. Conclusion / 385
Bibliography / 390

The whole book is downloadable HERE.

.