This volume brings together two classic works on the culture of the Russian people which have been long out of print. Gorer's Great Russian Culture and Mead's Soviet Attitudes towards Authority: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Problems of Soviet Character were among the first attempts by anthropologists to analyze Russian society.

Penetrating Views of Russian Culture Introduction: Russian Culture in the 20th Century Sergei Arutiunov The People of Great Russia INTRODUCTION and INTRODUCTION—1961 Geoffrey Gorer RUSSIAN CAMERA OBSCURA Ten Sketches of Russian Peasant Life (1916–1918) John Rickman Iron Snow Placenta Praevia The Apology The Threat The Bridal Dress Police Peasant Officers A Political Episode Moujiks want Glasses THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GREAT RUSSIANS Geoffrey Gorrer Childhood Training Character Developments The Enemy and Hate The Leader, Love, and Truth Conclusions APPENDICES Appendix I: Development of the Swaddling Hypotheses Geoffrey Gorer Appendix II: A Note on the Swaddling Hypotheses John Rickman Appendix III: Truth and Guilt John Rickman Soviet Attitudes Toward Authority Margaret Mead Questions Which This Study Seeks to Answer Methods and Materials Research Team of Studies in Soviet Culture and Their Areas of Research Background of the Soviet System of Authority Bolshevik Assumptions About Human Behavior as Abstracted from Theory and Practice Bolshevik Willingness to Accept or to Fabricate Token Events Soviet Ideals of Authority Relationships Expectations from Different Leadership Levels Characteristics of the Ideal Leader Soviet Official Expectations Regarding Motivation Motivation for Leadership Expectations Concerning the Masses and Children The Place of the Political Police in the Soviet Authority System Possible Developments in the Soviet Union APPENDIX APPENDIX A: Abstract of Research on Leadership in Soviet Agriculture and the Communist Party APPENDIX B: Summary of Conclusions of Research on Soviet Child Training Ideals and Their Political Significance, by E. Calas APPENDIX C: Summary of Conclusions of Research on Party and Non-Party Organizations in Soviet Industry, by L. H. Haimson APPENDIX D: Source Materials Used by Other Members of the Research Group APPENDIX E: Excerpt Concerning the Communist "Election of May, 1948, in Czechoslovakia" - Taken from Chapter XVI of Unpublished Manuscript "Czechs, Slovaks, and Communism," by David Rodnik APPENDIX F: "To Aid the Agitator," from Pravda, May 27, 1948 APPENDIX G: "Your Strength" (Poem about Atomic Energy) Index

“These texts expose… the impoverishing effect of recent emphases on critical virtuosity. The phenomenological status, processes, and practices involved (in our culture) in terms such as "character" are fascinating to study.” • Journal of Anthropological Research “Regardless of the dated theoretical approach of these classics, their valuable factual material and the ability of the authors to inspire further reflection still make them worth reading.” • Ethnos