The Russian and his work: Suffering, drama, and tradition in the 1890s-1930s

In this study I explore the historical development of the Russian perceptions of work between 1890s-1930s. I define work as any kind of human activity, including the activity which gives meaning and purpose to the social institutions, perpetuates or undermines the policies of political, social, and economic institutions.; I argue that the representative symbol of the Russian perceptions of work was the image of the Passion of Christ. The controversial effect of the image of a sufferer and a hero on the Russian perceptions of work has been the driving force behind this study.; It is my contention, that the prevalent tendencies in the Russian studies to lock the studies within the discursive fields of either sociology or economics have effectively foreclosed on the Russian and his cultural ethos. The Russian and His Work aims at being specific about the cultural elements of which the Russian perceptions of work were composed.; I show that the historical development of the Russian perceptions of work was a complex process of negotiation between the Russian and his contemporary social institutions and practices. There is a historical continuity between the Russian Christian and the revolutionary martyrdom, rooted in the Russian peasant's and intelligentsia's sense of identification with the image of the Passion of Christ. I demonstrate the historical links between the Russian's notion of agricultural work and his religious and physiological notions of suffering, and their difference from the intelligentsia's perceptions. For intelligentsia, this celebration of readiness for suffering and sacrifice suggested a certain kind of work, emancipated from family, society, and history.; This study demonstrates how the Bolshevik's vision of work in a modernizing society adapted and accommodated the Western values of rationality and efficiency within the Russian's paradigm of meanings of suffering and heroic self-sacrifice.; The conclusion, that the Russian's perceptions of work between 1890s and 1930s exhibited remarkable persistence and resilience, despite fundamental sociopolitical and economic changes, challenges the assumptions of the current developmental discourse. I suggest, therefore, that the study of the individual's perceptions discloses a vital dimension in understanding the particularities of a non-Western modernization route.