Overview

"Contemporary Russia stands apart as one of the most prolific generators of conspiracy theories and paranoid rhetoric. Conspiracy Culture traces the roots of the phenomenon within the sphere of culture and history, examining the long arc of Russian paranoia from the present moment back to earlier nineteenth-century sources, such as Dostoevsky’s anti-nihilist novel Demons. Conspiracy Culture examines the use of conspiracy tropes by contemporary Russian authors and filmmakers including the postmodernist writer Viktor Pelevin, the conservative author and pundit Aleksandr Prokhanov, and the popular director Timur Bekmambetov. It also explores paranoia as an instrument within contemporary Russian political rhetoric, as well as in pseudo-historical works. What stands out is the manner in which popular paranoia is utilized to express broadly shared fears not only of a long-standing anti-Russian conspiracy undertaken by the West, but also about the destruction of the country’s cultural and spiritual capital within this imagined ""Russophobic"" plot."

Full Product Details

Author:   Keith A. Livers
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.00cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.10cm
Weight:   0.620kg
ISBN:  

9781487507374

ISBN 10:   1487507372
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   08 September 2020
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction: The Anti-Russian Conspiracy 1. From Vampire Capitalism to Enlightened Selfhood: Viktor Pelevin's (Anti)-Conspiracy Novels 2. The Great Anti-Russian Plot: Aleksandr Prokhanov's Conspiracy Novels of the 2000s 3. Timur Bekmambetov's Night and Day Watch: Russia's Secret Others 4. From the Dulles Plan to Pussy Riot: Conspiracy Theories in Today's Russia Conclusion: Mr. Putin and Comrade Trump Bibliography

Reviews

Anyone interested in Russian media, conspiracy culture, and broader Russian cultural context will find this book valuable and at times quite entertaining. -- Eugenia Kuznetsova * <em>Eurasian Geography and Economics</em> * Conspiracy Culture asks its readers not merely to think about conspiracy, but to reconsider the evolving contemporary Russian cultural canon in terms of the conspiratorial thinking that is part of its foundation. -- Eliot Borenstein * <i>The Russian Review, Vol. 80, No. 3</i> *

Anyone interested in Russian media, conspiracy culture, and broader Russian cultural context will find this book valuable and at times quite entertaining. -- Eugenia Kuznetsova * <em>Eurasian Geography and Economics</em> *

Author Information

Keith A. Livers is an associate professor in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

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