Etkind Sees a Dangerous Continuity in American ‘Russian Studies’

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Feb. 26 – Aleksandr Etkind, a Russian cultural historian at Vienna’s Central European University, sees a dangerous and even self-defeating continuity in “Russian studies” in the United States since the end of World War II and one threatening to extend into the future as well.

            He makes this point by offering what he calls on his Facebook page “a brief history of American ‘Russian studies’” as that discipline responded or failed to respond to changes in the USSR, Russia and the post-Soviet world (echofm.online/opinions/kratkaya-istoriya-amerikanskoj-nauki-o-rossii).

            In the 1950s, during the Cold War, America’s Russianists said that “the people are wonderful, the Kremlin is to blame for everything, we will hold back, and no change is needed.”

            In the 1980s, at the time of perestroika, these US specialists said that “let them be angry but we won’t give them any money” and expressed hopes that the USSR would not break apart, again insisting “we will hold back and no change is needed.”

            In the 1990s, with the collapse of the USSR, many of these specialist said that this was “a pity,” but added that “let’s give them money and we’ll make some for ourselves.” But again underlying that, “we will hold back and no change is needed.”

            In the 2000s, many of these people said that it was “too bad” that they couldn’t earn money,” arguing that “’Russia is a normal country’” and insisting that “America is to blame for everything.” And then adding as always “we will hold back and no change is needed.

            In the 2010s, they said “it will be a pity if Russia doesn’t disintegrate; but then these specialists added “we must restrain ourselves and no change is needed.”

            In the 2020s, many of these experts expressed the wish that Ukraine not win, arguing that the current Russian regime is “no worse than others” and that things were “so good there when I was young … We will hold back and no change is needed.”

            And in the 2030s, Etkind predicts, these same people will be forced to acknowledge that Russia as broken up, although that is too bad because “it was the norm.” And they will again say: “let’s give them money and we’ll make money for ourselves,” adding only that “we will hold back and no change is needed.”