The Russians—Who Are We?: Transferring to Canvas the Traits of Changeable Rus'

Abstract

Early history loved to express itself in "artistic" forms, incorporating both knowledge and feeling. Today's scholarship, which primarily values "facts" and the opportunity to interpret them, leaves the "spirit" of history to the arts. It is not difficult to see that most people's ideas about the distant past are shaped by literature, painting, and films, which create a mythology of history. For the most part, professional historians do not much appreciate contemporary artistic portrayals of history. If they do accept that such portrayals have a right to exist, it is only as popularization for neophytes, full of inaccuracies, absurdities, and far-fetched and extraneous elements. From the other side, art critics and experts in the arts locate historical portrayals outside the realm of "pure" art and condemn them as excessively concerned with plot, literary illustration, and reconstruction. Only the state makes skillful use of history when necessary, using the arts to promote myths of clan and family. Regardless of outside assessments, however, people's consciousness retains a hierarchy of values, and the artistic medium keeps alive the ineradicable desire for affirmation in the lofty images of Bible, Gospels, and history.