"""The friendship of peoples"": Soviet ballet, nationalities policy, and the artistic media, 1953-1968"

Hamm, Kristen E.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/14632 Copy

Description

Title

"""The friendship of peoples"": Soviet ballet, nationalities policy, and the artistic media, 1953-1968"

Author(s)

Hamm, Kristen E.

Issue Date

2010-01-06T16:20:09Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Koenker, Diane P.

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Koenker, Diane P.

Department of Study

Russian,E European,Eurasn Ctr

Discipline

Russian, E Eur, Eurasian St

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Soviet Union--Cultural History
• Soviet Union--Ballet
• Soviet Union--Government Policy--Minorities

Abstract

"This project places the art form of Soviet classical ballet within the political and cultural context of the Khrushchev-era Thaw. It traces the Soviet Union's long-standing nationalities policy--envisioned by Lenin even before 1917 and championed by Stalin throughout his tenure--and its connection to the proliferation of state-sponsored classical ballet theatres across the ethnically diverse, non-Russian regions and republics of the USSR. Classical ballet served a dual purpose in fulfilling the Soviet Union's claim to be the most culturally, scientifically, economically, and politically advanced country on earth. First, the internationally-heralded achievements of Russia's two oldest ballet institutions--the Bolshoi and Kirov Theatres--served to demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority to the rest of the world. Second, by founding state-sponsored ballet theatres in its peripheries, the Soviet Union utilized the art form of classical dance as a part of its civilizing mission to spread culture to its own ""backward"" regions. The artistic achievements of these provincial and republic ballet theatres served as a powerful source of propaganda, not only to Moscow and Leningrad, but also abroad, emphasizing the Soviet Union's dedication to cultural development even in traditionally under-developed regions."

Graduation Semester

2009-12

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/14632

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2009 Kristen E. Hamm

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