Putin’s war has prompted a deep analysis and reevaluation of the forces driving this deadly confrontation. At the Vanishing Point in History brings together renowned humanities scholars and prominent novelists to explore the roots and causes of the ongoing catastrophe in Eastern Europe. This distinguished group of Russian émigrés, well-versed in Russian culture, history, and philosophy, aims to examine the past to understand the present. Experts in the inner workings of Russian society who have fled the country, they believe it is their responsibility to critically assess the current crisis, reflect on its origins, and outline the agenda for future research in the humanities. In response to this challenge, they present a collection of analytical essays that offer essential background and context for understanding the unfolding events in Europe. Today’s Russia is perhaps the most representative example of the grave threat that tyranny poses to global civilization. In its brutal attack on Ukraine, Putin’s regime holds not only Russians but all of humanity hostage. The atrocities committed in the name of the “Russian world” make it urgent to thoroughly investigate Russia’s current political pursuit in order to uncover its true origins and find a way forward.
Edited by:
Marina F. Bykova (North Carolina State University USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 214mm,
Width: 138mm,
Spine: 22mm
Weight: 448g
ISBN: 9781350438316
ISBN 10: 1350438316
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 23 January 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction Marina F. Bykova (North Carolina State University, USA) Part I. Russia’s Bloody Past and the Unlearned History Lessons 1. Judgment of the Vanquished over the Victors, or Bolshevism in the Post-October Reflection of Russian Philosophers, Alexander L. Dobrokhotov (King's College London, UK/ National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia) 2. Russian Counter-Enlightenment, Marina F. Bykova (North Carolina State University, USA) 3. Between Nationalism and Universalism: The Imperial Imagination from Vladimir Solovyov to Alexander Kojeve, Boris Groys (EGS, Saas Fee, Switzerland) 4. The Battlefield of the Word and the Dissemination of Official Language, Elena Glasov-Corrigan (Emory University, USA) 5. Resistance to Pragmatism in Russian Culture, Dmitri N. Shalin (University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA) 6. Against the West: The Weimar Republic and Post-Soviet Russia as “aggrieved” Powers, Leonid Luks (Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany) Part II. The War of Obsession 7. Russian Anti-World, Mikhail N. Epstein (Emory University,USA) 8. The “End of History” or the End of the Human Race? Rereading Fukuyama During Russia’s War Against Ukraine, Mikhail Sergeev (University of the Arts, Philadelphia,USA), 9. Three Dimensions of the Current War, Mikhail Blumenkranz (Freelance Scholar, Germany) 10. Cynical Consensus, Mark Lipovetsky (Columbia University, USA) 11. Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat, Mikhail P. Shishkin (Freelance Writer, Switzerland) Part III. Does Russia Have a Future? 12. Cyclical Progress. The Eternal Return of Modernity, Vladimir Marchenkov (Ohio University, USA) 13. Judgment: Faculty, Emotion or Trial?. Michail Maiatsky (University of Fribourg / University of Lausanne, Switzerland), 14. My Fact, Your Fake, Viktor Erofeyev (Freelance Writer, Russia/ France) 15. Defederating Russia, Alexander Etkind (Central European University, Vienna, Austria /European University Institute, Florence,Italy) Index
Marina F. Bykova is Full Professor of Philosophy at North Carolina State University, USA, and the Editor-in-chief of Studies in East European Thought and Russian Studies in Philosophy.
Reviews for At the Vanishing Point in History: Critical Perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine War
During Russia’s many periods of revolution, (civil) war, and repression, critical intellectuals have produced famous volumes like Vekhi (1909), Iz glubiny (1918), and Iz-pod glyb (1974). Regrettably, we face such a dark period again, but, fortunately, there are critical Russian intellectuals who have revived, with this volume, their strong tradition -- Evert van der Zweerde * Faculty of Philosophy, Theology & Religious Studies, Radboud University * This powerful volume brings together essays by prominent intellectual historians, philosophers, and literary scholars who ponder the vicissitudes of Russian history, trying to make sense of - and determined to take a stance against - the war in Ukraine. A voice from the depths that calls for forensic analysis and unambiguous civic commitment -- Galin Tihanov * George Steiner Professor of Comparative Literature, Queen Mary University of London *
