Russian rulers have always invited architects from abroad and imported modern technologies, turning these into something genuinely Russian. In her presentation, Anna Bronovitskaya traces the transformation of dominant styles that followed alternating national rulers and ideologies. From early Byzantine influences up to the contemporary experiments of Alexander Brodsky, one can see the constant renewal of the Russian creative spirit.
Recommended further readings:
Anderson, Richard. Russia. Modern Architectures in History. London, Reaction books, 2015.
Bronovitskaya, Anna; Malinin, Nikolai; Palmin, Yuri. Moscow: A Guide to Soviet Modernist Architecture 1955–1991. Moscow, Garage, 2019.
Brumfield, William Craft. A History of Russian Architecture. Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Shvidkovsky, Dmitry. Russian Architecture and the West. New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 2007.
A HISTORY OF RUSSIAN CULTURE: ESSENTIALS
A series of seven lectures conducted by prominent Russian scholars in cinema, literature, visual art, theater, music, architecture, and design. Each of the speakers presents a broad authorial perspective on their respective fields and puts it in the wider cultural and social landscape. What distinguishes this crash course from others is that it highlights not only Western, but also Eastern influences, relations, and parallels. This series is held in English with Arabic subtitles and will be accompanied by the Russian Culture Manual. Participants: Kirill Adibekov, Alexei Vdovin, Kirill Svetlyakov, Valery Zolotukhin, Roman Nasonov, Anna Bronovitskaya, and Alexandra Sankova.
