Us and Them: Bengt Jangfeldt on the Idea of Russia

From the time of Peter the Great to the reign of Vladimir Putin, the question of what Russia’s relationship is to the West and to Western values has absorbed and divided the country. A similar dualism characterises another distinctive feature of Russian history – the relationship between ruler and people.

In this concise, illuminating account, Us and Them: Bengt Jangfeldt on the Idea of Russia, the author highlights the swings of the pendulum in Russian history between stagnation and upheaval, oppression and thaw, reforms and counter-reforms. Russians like to regard their country as morally superior to countries in the West – a view strongly influenced by the role of the country’s Orthodox Church. By outlining the main features of the Russian ‘civilisation myth’, Russian expert Bengt Jangfeldt helps us understand not only the history of ideas in Russia but also what is particular about the country’s politics and culture today.