3. Conclusion

Having researched the history and culture of Russia in the period of great ferment (1894 – 1917), I would like to draw the following conclusions.

First of all, Russia was a witness to a stunning cultural explosion, the fabled Silver Age. There are identifiable and innovative movements in literature, both poetry and prose, for instance, Symbolism and Acmeism. They were represented by such outstanding writers and poets as Akhmatova, Pasternak, Mandelstam, Bely, Sologub, Gumilev, Tsvetaeva, Blok, Mayakovsky.

Furthermore, music continues to excel in such major figures such as Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky, as well as the recrudescence of church choral music.

Moreover, Russian ballet was a sensation in Europe with Nijinsky in productions by Diaghilev. And Russian art, whether that of painting or theater set design, was truly avant-garde. Vrubel, Kandinsky, Malevich, Chagall, and Goncharova, to name just a few, barely need introduction.

Thus, Russian culture had a great influence on the twentieth century world. Russian music, dance, theatre, art, and literature have shaped contemporary life in significant ways. But this influence also had a dark side. The Russian version of communism was a virulent ideology during a major part of the twentieth century, its global impact so profound that it has rightly become the source of countless studies and extensive documentation. While this focus on Russian communism is invaluable and completely justified, it too often overshadows the many other aspects of Russian life. There is still an unknown Russia, a Russia comprised of private lives as opposed to public history.

4. References

1. Вишняк, М.В. Дань прошлому / М.В. Вишняк. – Нью-Йорк: издательство имени Чехова, 1954. – 208с.

2. Волков-Муромцев, Н.В. Юность: от Вязьмы до Феодосии / Н.В. Волков-Муромцев. – Париж: издательство Молодежной Христианской Организации, 1983. – 426с.

3. Паустовский, К.Г. Повесть о жизни / К.Г. Паустовский. – М.: Высшая школа, 1962. – 350с.

4. Pahomov, G., Lupinin, N. The Russian century: a hundred years of Russian lives / G. Pahomov, N. Lupinin. – Lanham: University press of America, 2008. – 329p.

5. The Russian History: Military and Politics http://www.russian_history.com

5. Annotation

The report includes short abstracts from the memoirs of famous Russian writers, such as Nikolai Volkov-Muromtsev, Mark Vishniak and Konstantin Paustovskii. Descriptions of their lives reflect the main historical events in Russia at the end of the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th centuries.

1 Pahomov G., Lupinin N. The Russian century: a hundred years of Russian lives. Lanham, 2008. P.64

2 Волков-Муромцев Н.В. Юность: от Вязьмы до Феодосии. Париж, 1983. С.50-68

3 Pahomov G., Lupinin N. The Russian century: a hundred years of Russian lives. Lanham, 2008. P.95

4 Вишняк М.В. Дань прошлому. Нью-Йорк, 1954. С.76-124

5 Pahomov G., Lupinin N. The Russian century: a hundred years of Russian lives. Lanham, 2008. P.103

6 Паустовский К.Г. Повесть о жизни. М., 1962. С.210-218