In Russia the “provinces” begin at the edges of Moscow and St Petersburg – everything beyond the two “capitals” is “provincial” in the world’s largest country. Thus the vast majority of Russians live in the “provinces”, although the country’s culture (as its economy and politics) is dominated by the two capitals. The geographical extent of Russia, the inaccessibility of even major centers of population, a very centralized institutional structure, obvious economic imbalances, and many other factors go into sustaining the sense that “provincial” Russia is remote, backward, and homogeneous. At the same time, opposite claims are often heard: that here is the “real” Russia, uncontaminated by non-native influences, unchanged by time, pure, and beautiful – a model from which the capitals have deviated to their own detriment.

This course will examine a series of images of the “provincial” in Russian culture, using readings not only from fiction, poetry, and travel narratives, but also from beyond the realm of belles lettres (there will be significant use of Internet resources, for example). In a series of course modules we will explore how the Russian provinces have been imagined, presented, and distorted by those who inhabit them, by those who mythologize them, by those who dread them, and by those who love them.