Summary of “Natasha's Dance” by

Orlando Figes
A Cultural History of Russia

Written by Bookey
About the book
Natasha's Dance is a study of Russian culture and
the origins of the national character. The book
explores the difference between European
civilization and folk elements in Russian culture,
the confrontation between "civilized" and "native"
Russia, and the divide between the aristocratic elite
and the rural underclass. It reveals the formation
and development of Russian culture, presenting a
brilliant and dazzling scroll of culture.
About the author
The author of this book, Orlando Figes, received
his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is
a Professor of History at the University of London.
As one of the leading scholars of Russian studies in
the English-speaking world today, Figes is also
well versed in Russian literature, art, politics and
economy. His research publications include The
Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia and The
Crimean War: A History. His works received the
Wolfson Prize and NCR Book Award. They have
been translated into more than twenty languages
and have become popular worldwide.
Chapter 1: Overview
Hi, welcome to Bookey. Today we will unlock the
book Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia.
In Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, there is the
following short extract: The heroine of the book,
Natasha Rostov, is a Russian noblewoman with a
sheltered upbringing. A distant uncle invites her
and her brother to his cabin at the end of a day's
hunting in the woods. The housekeeper, Anisya,
entertains Rostov with a home-cooked meal that
she has made by herself. Rostov gorges on pickled
mushrooms, rye-cakes made with buttermilk,
sparkling mead, and fruit wine that she has never
seen before. She finds these foods to be the most
delicious in the world. After the meal, the sound of
the balalaika can be heard in the servant's room.
Rostov finds the simple country ballad genuinely
incredible. Seeing his little niece in such high
spirits, the uncle grabs his guitar to play the
popular Russian folk song "Came a maiden down
the street", Rostov cannot help but revel in the
strong rhythm of the melody. With an
inexplicable feeling in her heart, Rostov throws off
her shawl, walks briskly to her uncle, crosses her
arms, adjusts her shoulders, and stands still. She
dances with grace and charm, smiling proudly and
mischievously. For an instant, everyone in the room
is astonished by Rostov's authentic Russian dance
moves. She has shocked everyone: As a young
countess receiving education from a French
governess, where, how, and when had she imbibed
that spirit from the Russian air she breathed?
What enabled Natasha to pick up so instinctively
the rhythms of the dance? How could she step so
easily into this village culture from which she was
so far removed by social class and education?
These questions bring us to the heart of the book.
The author states in the book: “The European
Russian had a split identity. His mind was a state
divided into two. On one level he was conscious of
acting out his life according to prescribed European
conventions; yet on another plane his inner life was
swayed by Russian customs and sensibilities.”
Natasha's Dance is precisely the very embodiment
of this unique Russian national mentality. And
today’s book Natasha's Dance is a study of Russian
culture and the origins of the national character.
The book explores the divergence between
European civilization and folk elements in Russian
culture. It reveals the formation and development
of Russian culture, presenting a brilliant and
dazzling scroll of culture. The author of this book,
Orlando Figes, received his Ph.D. from the
University of Cambridge. As a Professor of History
at the University of London, he has continuously
worked on Russian literature, art, politics, and
economics. Figes is one of the leading scholars of
Russian studies in the English-speaking world
today. His research publications include The
Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia and The
Crimean War: A History. His works received the
Wolfson Prize and NCR Book Award. They have
been translated into more than twenty languages
and have become popular worldwide. Next, we
will uncover the key characteristics of Russian
culture in three parts: Part One: "Native" Russia;
Part Two: "Civilized" Russia; Part Three: Russia
in the Soviet Era.
Chapter 2: "Native" Russia
When speaking of Russian history, we must
mention the Slavs of central Asia. Due to the
Mongol hordes, the Slavs were displaced. Some of
those displaced Slavs formed Kievan Rus’, the first
Russian state. These Rus’ people are the common
ancestors of today's Russians, Belarusians and
Ukrainians. To explore the Russian soul, we will
need to trace back to the early days of this Russian
state, Kievan Rus’. Initially, the eastern Slavic
tribes had their own gods to worship. But after the
founding of Kievan Rus', the country's rulers
gradually felt the need to establish a unified
religion. During the reign of the monarch Vladimir
I, Kievan Rus' reached its pinnacle and became an
Eastern European power. At that time, Vladimir
was a lustful and indulgent man, with many wives
and concubines. Soon, his indulgence in sensual
pleasures evoked the emptiness of his soul. Feeling
overwhelmed with anxiety, he attempted to restore
the Slavs' worship of the gods. He ordered the
statue of the supreme God Perun to be forged in
gold and silver, but his soul was still not satisfied.
Vladimir, the pagan prince of Kievan Rus' in the
10th century, sent his emissaries to various
countries searching for the True Faith. As soon as
the emissaries caught sight of the churches of
Constantinople, they were overwhelmed by its
splendor. As we explained in 1453: The Holy War
for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the
West, the emissaries reported, "We knew not
whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely
there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere on
earth." As it turned out, the colorful religious rituals,
magnificent vestments, incense, music, the
emperor's grace and the grandeur of the court
shook Vladimir's heart and filled him with awe. In
988 A.D., Vladimir I declared Orthodoxy, a branch
of Christianity, to be the state religion of Rus'.
Rituals are essential to the Orthodox religion.
Indeed, the very meaning of the concept 'Orthodox'
is rooted in the idea of the 'correct rituals'.
Orthodoxy is fundamentally conservative. The Old
Believers rejected any innovation in the liturgy.
They clung to ancient Orthodox rituals as a symbol
of holiness. With a clear tendency towards
egalitarianism, the old liturgists saw the clergy's
hierarchy as a corruption of the church. Orthodox
liturgy is a religious ritual belonging to the people.
There are no pews, no social hierarchies, in a
Russian church. Worshippers are free to move
around - as they do constantly to prostrate and
cross themselves before the various icons - and this
makes for an atmosphere that is not unlike a busy
market square. In 1326, the Metropolitan moved
the center of the Russian Church from Vladimir to
Moscow. From that time on, anyone who opposed
Moscow was considered an enemy of Christianity.
Moscow became the center of the Old Believers,
whose central idea was based on the belief that a
sacred kingdom might be found in "Holy Rus".
According to the founding principles of Tsarist
Russia, when the Ottomans sacked Constantinople
in 1453, Moscow took up the mantle of Rome and
Byzantium, becoming the only remaining center of
Orthodoxy, also known as the Third Rome. Ivan IV
even engraved Moscow's doctrine as the Third
Rome on the stone walls of the newly built St
Basil's Cathedral. Byzantium heavily influenced
the culture of Russia. Ivan III created a new
double-headed eagle coat of arms modeled after the
Byzantine imperial coat of arms. He adapted the
shape of the palace in accordance with the
Byzantine style. However, Russian architecture
isn't a replica of Byzantium. The Mongols had
occupied Kiev around 1230 and ruled Russia for
more than two centuries. It wasn't until 1480, when
Ivan III succeeded over the Mongols at the Battle
of Ugra, that the Mongol aristocracy's rule over the
Rus' people ended. The Mongol invasion
devastated Russia's economy and culture,
eliminating handicraft production and bringing
masonry construction to a halt. Masonry was
revived with the construction of a series of
churches and palaces, especially the Kremlin
Palace, a new complex of buildings on the site of
the old one. The Kremlin Palace was originally a
wooden castle built by Prince Dolgorukov in the
12th century. It wasn't until the 14th century that
the construction of a beautiful palace and white
stone cathedrals began on the former site. The
architecture of the Grand Principality of Moscow
was known for its brightly colored onion domes
and tent roofs influenced by folk architecture. One
of the most representative buildings was St Basil's
Cathedral, known as a "fairy tale set in precious
stones." With the restoration of the Orthodox
Church, the iconography of church interiors
developed rapidly. Russian iconography is famous
for its medieval Byzantine style. Iconographic
figures are fairly two-dimensional; they aren't
realistic looking people, but rather symbolic
figures. Iconography often uses "inverse
perspective," Using this method, believers will feel
as though they are sharing a fantastic space with
their icon as they gaze at the painting. More
than two centuries of Mongolian rule had left a
profound impact on Russian customs and cultural
traditions. The boyar class wore a semi-oriental
kaftan and fur coats, just like merchants. Many of
the business and administrative terms in the
Russian language come from the Tatar language. In
Russian customs, stepping on door thresholds is
taboo, and the practice of Russian peasants
throwing people into the air is a token of respect.
All of these customs can be traced back to the
Mongols. In terms of material culture, noble boyars
were almost indistinguishable from the ordinary
folks. Before the 18th century, most of the Tsar's
courtiers lived in wooden houses, which weren't
much larger than peasant huts. They were furnished
only with simple clay or wooden pots. Russia
has a long tradition of authoritarianism, but the
Mongol influence was the most significant factor in
laying the cornerstones of Russian politics.
Whether a peasant or a nobleman, the Mongol
Khans demanded absolute obedience from their
subjects and ensured this through coercive
measures. When the Mongol Khan was expelled
from Russia in the 16th century, he was replaced by
the "Prince of Moscow," and later by the Tsars,
who inherited this tradition from the Mongols.
Since the 16th century, the Grand Principality of
Moscow was considered the Tsar's domain. Nobles
were only the legal "slaves" of the Tsar. Before the
18th century, there were no magnificent noble
houses in Russia. Nobles were running errands
across the vast empire of the Tsar, so real
investments in the land were scarce. Also, their
estates needed to be ready to be exchanged or sold
at any time. The ancient Grand Principality of
Moscow contains a certain sense of the Russian
soul. "Native" Russia adopts a nationalization
model, where collectivism, egalitarianism, and
anti-privatism all play a dominant role. The union
of Moscow with Orthodoxy was consolidated in the
Church and Byzantium strongly influenced the
churches' architectural style. Iconography inspired
the Rus' people's intellectual life, and was the
origin of the glorious Russian paintings. The
traditions of the Church and the lifestyle of
civilians also remained virtually unchanged over
the following centuries.
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