{"id":297,"date":"2018-09-18T23:10:10","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T03:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/?p=297"},"modified":"2018-09-22T19:46:23","modified_gmt":"2018-09-22T23:46:23","slug":"superfluous-dictatorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/the-primeval-russian-forest\/superfluous-dictatorship\/","title":{"rendered":"Superfluous Dictatorship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Brown\u2019s depiction of the Russian state in the field of power explains the \u201cintrinsic aspect of Russian national culture that demands a \u2018strong leader\u2019 rather than wide participation\u201d (165). The recurring trope of the superfluous man in much of the Russian literature we have read seems to mock this intrinsic \u201cneed\u201d for a strong, overpowering male leader. Brown introduces the role of democracy as to \u201censure and the rule of law \u00a0help to ensure that state power does not become overbearing,\u201d but \u201cthe tight fist that has held state power in Russia since the days of Empire has left little opportunity for alternative powers to expand the field\u201d (165). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the texts that we have read, such as \u201cUncle Vanya\u201d and \u201cAmongst the Plants and Animals,\u201d there is a lack of powerful male characters. This deficit is shown when male characters, who would traditionally be the strong head of the household, spend time in nature and do not prioritize their money-making or success. The trope of the \u201csuperfluous man,\u201d who is often resented by his wife who wishes for more social status and a more lavish lifestyle, could be a quiet rebellion against the endless dictatorship in Russia. The female figure that demands a stronger husband is symbolic for the rejection of democracy and the many years under what Brown calls \u201cthe rule-making machine.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brown\u2019s depiction of the Russian state in the field of power explains the \u201cintrinsic aspect of Russian national culture that demands a \u2018strong leader\u2019 rather than wide participation\u201d (165). The recurring trope of the superfluous man in much of the Russian literature we have read seems to mock this intrinsic \u201cneed\u201d for a strong, overpowering [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":691,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-primeval-russian-forest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/russian-2447-fall-2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}