Adventures in Russian Historical Research: Reminiscences of American Scholars from the Cold War to the Present by Samuel H. s> Baron Cathy A. Frierson (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 973 addressed.This book is importantbecause it presentsthree intellectualsfrom Eastern Europe that have produced a great deal of work on the least heard variant of nationalism. In particular,it is this liberal critique of conservative nationalism that makes Donskis's analysis so important for the study of nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe. With these commentators in mind, perhapsit is not only demographicfactorsthathave led post-restoration Lithuania to adopt inclusive policies of nation-building from the outset, as opposed to Estonia and Latvia.With the qualityof Donskis'scriticalanalysis, the reader would have benefited from a more thorough discussion of liberal nationalism. Nevertheless,the book's contributionto the studyof nationalism makes it importantfor studentsof Central and EasternEuropean society and politics. Department ofPolitics DAVID J. GALBREATH University ofSheffield Baron, Samuel H. and Frierson,Cathy A. (eds).Adventures inRussian Historical Research: Reminiscences ofAmerican Scholars from theColdWarto thePresent. M. E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY and London, 2003. xxii + 272 pp. Notes. Bibliographicalreferences.Index. $24.95 (paperback). EIGHT women and twelvemen, representingeverygenerationof US historians since the 1950S, provide in chronological order of their stazhirovki a kaleidoscopic view of researchon and in Russia. It also, inevitably,gives them a shop window in which to showcase their resultant books and to advertise forthcoming attractions. The number of scholars granted archival access to Russia has fluctuated over the years and provides a barometer of US-Soviet relations,with the mid-'7os and the glasnostyearsrepresentingthe peaks,and the early I980s the deepest of severaltroughs.Barometricpressurewas further indicated by topic choice: those wishing to study post-revolutionary or contemporary topics often found their applications rejected by the Soviet authorities. Gender played a role too, with 'the woman question' deemed unsuitablefor a male scholar, while the I905 Revolution was considered not to be 'a woman's topic' (p. II 7). The experiences recorded here reflect the changing realitiesof Soviet and post-Soviet Russia:it comes as a surprisethat as recently as I997 one contributor was required to hand over his archival notes for examination, something which would surelyhave been unusual ten or even twentyyearsearlier. The twenty essays presented here reflect an interesting variety of approaches. For at least one contributor it becomes an exercise in selfpromotion , for another in family-centred autobiography, and for yet others an opportunityto explain theirown fields.There is nothingintrinsicallywrong in this, of course, since it makesforlivelyreadingand, for example, allowsone avowedly unconventional scholar (LauraEngelstein) to write an intellectual autobiographyof considerablecharm. However, editoriallythere is a fine line to be drawn between arid objectivity and unbridled self-indulgence. There are interesting revelations concerning fluency in Russian, ranging from the surprisinglyimmodest references of one contributorto the excellence of his/ 974 SEER, 8 2, 4, 2004 her command to the admissionof another that he/she could barely conduct a telephone conversation in the language. One can readily empathize with the frustrations recounted in dealings with Russian officialdom. Samuel H. Baron's admission that, although a mild-mannered person, he had frequently been 'provoked to unrestrained anger' (p. 23) strikes a familiar chord. However, among the most positive outcomes of personal contact affordedby the research exchanges featured was the creation in I997 of the foundation inspired by PriscillaRoosevelt, American Friendsof the Russian CountryEstate. Unquestionably, the pieces that work best are those which offerintellectually satisfyingperceptions with no trace of self-satisfaction.Among these are the reflectionsby Richard Stites and S. FrederickStarron the importance of the scholar's experience of the physical 'theatre' of history. In an unaffected and rivetingmemoir, Eve Levin focuses on her collaborationwith her Soviet soul-mate, Natalia Pushkareva, which extended from shopping for scarce commodities in I990 to a co-authored book on women in Russian history. It is a genuinely heart-warmingstorywhich should impresseven the most hardnosed reader.Nadieszda Kizenko, the daughterof emigres,writesmemorably about her firstvisit to Russia. She movingly describesthe material hardships of life in Petersburg in I99I and I992, compounded by the devastating ransacking of her apartment, an experience which was alleviated by an encounter with her uncle, the head of the LeningradMilitaryAcademy. Nancy Shields Kollmann is upbeat about the futureof researchconditions which have already seen considerable improvement in her area of sixteenthand seventeenth-centurydocuments. However, her optimism contrastssharplywith EliseKimerlingWirtschafter'sreferencesto the 'corruption,logistical problems, and...