Week 1 Flashcards
What is the main goal of ‘Seeing into Being’
To explore how visual culture contributes to historical and cultural understanding in the Russian Context
How did Soviet artists sometimes subvert propaganda through visuals?
By embedding ambigous or contradictory messages within state-approved images, challenging official narratives.
What role did modernization and Westernization play in Russian visual culture?
They introduced new technologies and genres, but also led to tension between traditional Russian forms and Western influences
Why is visual ambiquity important in oppressive societies like the Soviet Union?
Because it allows for multiple interpretations, enabling artists and audiences to communicate ideas that can’t be openly expressed
What is the Cap of Monomakh traditionally believed to represent?
The legitimacy and continuity of Russian autocratic rule, symbolically linked to Byzantium and Kievan Rus
What myth is associated with the cap of Monomakh?
That it was a gift from the Byzantine Emperor to Vladimir of Kiev, tying Russia to Christian imperial lineage.
When was the ‘Tale of the Princes of Vladimir’ composed and why?
In the 1520’s to support Muscovy’s expanding influence and legitimize its claim as the heir of Christian and imperial traditions
What is the true origin of the Cap of Monomakh according to scholars?
It was crafted in the Mongol Empire, likely in Crimea of Central Asia and brought to Moscow in the 14th century.
How was the Cap transformed to fit Muscovite symbolism?
It was embellished with Siberian fur, gemstones, and a cross. Mirroring Christian iconography and tsarist grandeur.
How did the Russian elite reconcile the Caps Mongol roots with Christian identity?
By reshaping the crowns appearance and creating myths that rewrote its origins to align with Orthodox and Byzantine heritage
What is the main point of the text ‘Political Ecology’ about Northern Eurasia?
That it only became a unified and culturally recognized space with the rise of statehood and structured societies toward the end of the first millenium.
What prevented early observers from seeing Northern Eurasia as a coherent region?
A lack of internal observers, written records, and shared cultural or spatial frameworks, among its dispersed and diverse populations.
What are ‘collective observers’ and why are they important?
Societies like China, Persia and Byzantium that produced unified worldviews, mapping and interpreting their territories and surroundings
Why didn’t early Northern Eurasian populations develop a shared ‘view of the world’?
Due to low population density, limited mobility, and the absence of writing or institutions to unify and transmit knowledge.
What role did writing play in shaping a region’s percieved unity?
Writing allowed civilizations to conceptualize, document and communicate their shared understanding of space and society.
What does the portrait of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich represent?
Traditional Orthodox rulership rooted in Byzantinte imagery and divine authority/
What is the ‘Titulary’ and why is it important?
A 1672 illustrated manuscript of rulers portraits showing how Muscovy portrayed tsarist authority.
What does the portrait of Peter the Great represent?
Secular, Western-style military power, realism and modernization. Aligned with European norms of modern leadership to reject traditional Orthodox imagery.
What broader transition do the portraits illustrate?
Russia’s evolution from a religious monarchy to a modern European-style empire under Peter the Great
