{"product_id":"natashas-dance-a-cultural-history-of-russia","title":"Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTitle: \u003c\/b\u003eNatasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor: \u003c\/b\u003eOrlando Figes\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN: \u003c\/b\u003e9780312421953\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/b\u003ePicador\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished: \u003c\/b\u003e2003\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding: \u003c\/b\u003ePaperback\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage: \u003c\/b\u003eEnglish\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdition: \u003c\/b\u003eFirst Edition\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber of Pages: \u003c\/b\u003e784\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Note: \u003c\/b\u003eClean, unmarked copy with some edge wear. Good binding. Dust jacket included if issued with one. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders.\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher Description: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHistory on a grand scale--an enchanting masterpiece that explores the making of one of the world's most vibrant civilizations\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eA People's Tragedy\u003c\/i\u003e, wrote Eric Hobsbawm, did \"more to help us understand the Russian Revolution than any other book I know.\" Now, in \u003ci\u003eNatasha's Dance\u003c\/i\u003e, internationally renowned historian Orlando Figes does the same for Russian culture, summoning the myriad elements that formed a nation and held it together. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeginning in the eighteenth century with the building of St. Petersburg--a \"window on the West\"--and culminating with the challenges posed to Russian identity by the Soviet regime, Figes examines how writers, artists, and musicians grappled with the idea of Russia itself--its character, spiritual essence, and destiny. He skillfully interweaves the great works--by Dostoevsky, Stravinsky, and Chagall--with folk embroidery, peasant songs, religious icons, and all the customs of daily life, from food and drink to bathing habits to beliefs about the spirit world. Figes's characters range high and low: the revered Tolstoy, who left his deathbed to search for the Kingdom of God, as well as the serf girl Praskovya, who became Russian opera's first superstar and shocked society by becoming her owner's wife. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLike the European-schooled countess Natasha performing an impromptu folk dance in Tolstoy's \u003ci\u003eWar and Peace\u003c\/i\u003e, the spirit of \"Russianness\" is revealed by Figes as rich and uplifting, complex and contradictory--a powerful force that unified a vast country and proved more lasting than any Russian ruler or state.\u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"Picador","offers":[{"title":"Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia | Orlando Figes | Paperback | 9780312421953 | Used: Very Good | Russian History 1716148","offer_id":50844334883074,"sku":"1716148","price":26.72,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/3327\/5906\/files\/91LSc_DiilL.jpg?v=1792703898","url":"https:\/\/boswellsbooks.com\/products\/natashas-dance-a-cultural-history-of-russia","provider":"Boswell's Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}