September 11, 2013

Patriotism: A USSR Story


Patriotism: A USSR Story

Patriotism in general is no simple concept. But on this Patriot Day in the US, perhaps it is worth appreciating that at least patriotism in the US is not nearly as complex and dangerous as it was in the Soviet Union.

Patriot Day in the US commemorates an attack on US soil – and in that, at least, we have a clear parallel: a solid portion of Russian and Soviet patriotism revolves around the troubled memories of World War II. Russians still give thanks to their fathers and grandfathers (occasionally mothers and grandmothers) who saved the country from “the fascists,” and praise the heroic deeds of soldiers, civilians, batalions, and even entire cities. Support for the current armed forces is also an accepted patriotic form – certainly a familiar one to the American observer.

What happens, though, when the Communist Party enters the picture? They certainly did a good job riffing on the same themes of military strength and victory over the invaders. However, under Communist leadership patriotism became a duty, a necessary prerequisite for success, with an obligatory component of praising the CPSU specifically, or at least Lenin and the current leader. Like a piece of gum chewed a little too long for lack of a trash can, patriotism became an inescapable, tasteless burden.

Soviet-style Patriotism: November 7th Parade, 1983
Military display with "Praise to the CPSU!" in the background

No one felt the pressure more than cultural icons of the day: writers, singers, directors, actors, etc. To be successful – or even to survive – they had to curry favor with the Party. Currying favor with the Party often meant creating or performing work that was artificially patriotic, which was selling out – and therefore became an obstacle to success. And yet the Soviet Union did have its own set of wildly popular performers. How did they ever navigate this Catch-22?

Joseph Kobzon

Joseph (Iosif) Kobzon, who turns 80 today, is a perfect case in point. A popular singer who remained on stage for over 50 years, he managed to both satisfy the party leadership and become an idol to many Soviet listeners. He was known both as a singer of patriotic songs – always a suspicious kind of fame – and as “one of us” in a system where the government was always “them.” In fact, over 80 percent of his songs were love songs, like the playful “If you love me, find me” (just look at that mischievous smile!).

So how did he avoid listeners’ disdain? At least he sang about the war, not about “giving the Earth to children” or other, more politically-oriented themes. Politics, however, is very insidious: Kobzon’s song “Malaya zemlya,” which at first seems like an awkwardly named run-of-the-mill WWII song, is in fact a blatant sell-out, as a musical tribute to General Secretary Brezhnev’s memoir The Small Land. In a society so ideologically controlled by the Communist Party, it’s not really patriotism until you’ve honored and sucked up to the current party elite.

Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955