Volume Seventeen, 2024-2025
The UC Undergraduate Journal of Slavic and East/Central European Studies
Editor-in-Chief
Roman Koropeckyj (Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures, UCLA)
Managing Editor
Cooper Lynn (Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures, UCLA)
Editorial Assistants
Ella Kitt (History and Russian Studies, UCLA)
Sasha James (Environmental Science, UCLA)
Undergraduate Advisor
Yelena Furman (Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures, UCLA)
Webmaster
Ryan Fogle (UCLA International Institute)
Editorial Board
Ryan Beitz (Political Science, UCLA)
Emilia McClellan (Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures, UCLA)
David Miller (Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures, UCLA)
Assem Shamarova (Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures, UCLA)
Polina Varfolomeeva (Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures, UCLA)
Chekhov's Sorceresses: An Evolution of Magic and Gender in Chekhov's Works
Nicole Gonik, Hunter College
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Although Anton Chekhov is typically known for his realistic portrayals of life at the turn of the century, elements of magic appear in several of his works, particularly in connection with his women characters. This paper will focus on three of Chekhov’s “sorceresses”: Raisa, from his 1886 short story “The Witch,” Nina Zarechnaia, from the 1895 play The Seagull, and Charlotta, from the 1903 play The Cherry Orchard. Careful consideration of these women’s associations with the supernatural assists in analyzing their relationships with other themes, such as performance, agency, loneliness, and isolation. These connections are especially relevant to their gendered contexts. Also important is Chekhov’s treatment of these characters in a wider literary context. To broach this broader ambit, this paper draws on gender and folklore theory, specifically from the works of Simone de Beauvoir and Vladimir Propp, respectively. Finally, this paper will examine how Chekhov uses Raisa, Nina, and Charlotta to create contrasting, though equally bleak, perspectives on magic and gender in order to show his evolution as a writer. Over time, Chekhov’s sorceresses exhibit greater agency and performativity while their alignment with traditional femininity decreases. Nevertheless, no matter the personal growth of these characters, their stories ultimately have the same conclusion: the magic of Chekhov’s sorceresses gets them nowhere.
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The Fate of the Motherland's Children: Youth Action, Trauma, and Experiences within the Russian Revolution (1917–1923)
Victoria Korotchenko, University of California, Santa Barbara
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Although their voices have often been left out of historical narratives, children played an undeniable role during the Russian Revolution. From those close to the levers of political action to those furthest afield, children served as the revolution’s witnesses, chroniclers, participants, and adjudicators. As impressively assured diarists, artists, and critics, their writing shines a light onto historically underreported corners of the revolution and civil war, especially regarding everyday life in wartime. Where more traditional sources self-consciously structure events into narratives, children’s writing is much more likely to integrate the mundane into the historic, painting a stark picture of what it was like to live through these events. Furthermore, their emotional investment in the conflict and reflections thereon provide a surprisingly earnest look at the period’s emotional profile, often at odds with figures of authority who might have otherwise structured their opinion. By collating contemporary writing by children from 1917–1923 alongside recollections of the period by adult memoirists as well as critical literature on the reality of living through these violent times, we may glean insight into various facets of the period that would otherwise go unnoticed, and in doing so, uplift the voices of some of the most marginalized members of society.
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Ballet and State Power in the Soviet Union, 1930s–1960s
Susannah Lahiri, University of California, Los Angeles
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Although theoretically opposed to the imperial project of the Russian Empire, the early years of the Soviet Union saw a deliberate attempt to coopt first the forms and eventually the aesthetics of the nineteenth century. A prime example of this dynamic is ballet: the art form, which enjoyed a long and intimate relationship with empire from the time of its very emergence in the French Court, might have encountered trouble asserting its relevance in a worker’s state, had it not become an expression of governmental power early in the Stalin regime. The dogma of socialist realism required all art to hew closely to the concerns of the state, resulting in a history of ballet that is inextricably enmeshed with that of the USSR. By analyzing ballets in their moments of conception, performance, and reception, we gain a look into the aesthetic history of the state and glean insight into its shifting priorities. This paper examines three ballets (The Flames of Paris, Swan Lake, and Spartacus) from different periods of Soviet history, looking specifically at the changes in what it was possible to express and interrogating the notion of the ballet as a space for dissent.
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“The Body” by Genrikh Sapgir: the Soviet Context
Anna Matveeva, Bard College
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Although art created without the official approval of the Soviet government is often thought of as intentionally undermining the power of the regime, the works of Genrikh Sapgir show that this assumption is not always true. The artist’s poem “The Body” and its corresponding display in 1975 at one of the largest permanent trade shows in the Soviet Union highlight the communist government’s attempt to absorb and control “unofficial” art, or works made without the governing body’s formal sanction. The sonnet, which was displayed on a shirt in conjunction with another of the artist’s poems, “The Spirit,” mocks the ephemerality of the human body while praising the endurance of the spirit. Although Sapgir’s poem does not contain a targeted critique of the USSR’s authority, the controversy over “The Body” lies in its treatment of the human form as something profane and even revolting—an idea which contradicted the main principles of the Soviet cult of the body. By placing the poem’s representation of the body within its historical context and offering an analysis of the poem as part of the collection in which it was published, this essay aims to show how unofficial art came into conflict with the official ideals of the Soviet Union, sometimes unintentionally. Although Sapgir’s poems were eventually allowed to be published during Perestroika, at the time he initially wrote “The Body” the government viewed the author’s critique of corporeality as potentially threatening to a regime that sought to discipline its citizens' bodies as tools for labor.
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The Paroxysms of Paradox: Dying of Contradiction
Daniel Schrader-Dobris, University of Southern California
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This article examines the characters of Ippolit from Dostoevsky's The Idiot and Ivan from The Brothers Karamazov as representations of spiritual and existential struggle. The author argues that Ivan is an evolution of Ippolit, demonstrating Dostoevsky's developing views on the possibility of moral redemption for troubled intellectuals. Both characters grapple with intense internal contradictions and doubts, but while Ippolit succumbs to despair and isolation, Ivan maintains a connection to humanity through his moral convictions. The analysis explores how Ippolit's inability to communicate his suffering leads to self-absorption and alienation, whereas Ivan's willingness to express his anguish allows for potential salvation. The author interprets this character progression as Dostoevsky's argument that even those experiencing profound spiritual crises can achieve redemption through genuine love for humanity and a commitment to moral action. By contrasting Ippolit's solipsistic misery with Ivan's conflicted but ultimately affirming choices, the article suggests Dostoevsky's evolving belief in the transformative power of faith and human connection, even in the face of intellectual doubt and existential despair.
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Soviet Musical Orientalism: The Role of the Symphonic Works of Reinhold Glière
Jack Szczuka, Indiana University
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This paper examines the role of Soviet composer Reinhold Glière's symphonic works in musical Orientalism and Soviet cultural policy in the 1930s-40s. It focuses on three of Glière's projects in non-Slavic Soviet republics: the opera Shakhsenem in Azerbaijan; the opera Gyul'sara and overture Holiday at Ferghana in Uzbekistan; and the Heroic March for the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR. The author argues that Glière's work exemplified contradictions in the Soviet program of "brotherly help" to develop local musical cultures. While aiming to raise local musical traditions, Glière's presence often spread Russian-centric cultural norms. The paper analyzes Glière's use of folk melodies and musical elements from each region, noting how he adapted them to fit Western classical forms and harmonies. It considers the varied reception of Glière's works, from controversy in Azerbaijan to greater acceptance in Uzbekistan. The author concludes that while Glière's music served Soviet political aims and has been criticized as distorting local traditions, it remains valued as part of the national heritage in these regions. The paper argues for a nuanced view of Glière's legacy that considers the complex dynamics between his music and local musical cultures.
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The Post-Independence Multivector Foreign Policy: How Kazakhstan Carved its Autonomy from Russia Long Before the Russo-Ukrainian War
Kurtis Yan, University of California, Los Angeles
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A common assessment of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War proposes that the consequences of the conflict have led Kazakhstan to conduct itself independently of Russia on the world stage. Yet this conclusion detracts from the process of the country’s post-Soviet self-determination since 1991. This article identifies Kazakhstani disassociation from Russian influence as an ongoing process that encompasses cultural and national identity, multilateral economic relations, and security relations. The rise of Kazakh ethnocentrism and language use evinces a strong national identity that both acknowledges and evolves from its Soviet legacy by moving toward the Turkic world. In economic terms, Kazakhstan’s soft balancing appeases its long list of trade partners, with the goal of bettering its global economic position and attracting foreign investment. Although Russia remains a vital economic partner in post-Soviet space, especially with regard to oil and gas exports, Kazakhstan aims to diminish its economic dependence on Russia in favor of partnerships with, among others, China, the European Union (EU), and Turkey. Furthermore, this balancing act makes it possible for Kazakhstan to pursue security partnerships with China and Turkey, both of which are rising military powers. Although Kazakhstani-Russian cooperation is too deep-rooted for absolute severance to be a real possibility, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine provides incentive for Kazakhstan to accelerate its multivector foreign policy approach. Finally, in the context of the war in Ukraine, ethnic tensions between Kazakhs and Russian émigrés to Kazakhstan could further shape the course of Kazakhstan-Russia relations in the near future.
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