Swans of the Kremlin: Ballet and Power in Soviet Russia

by Christina Ezrahi

Classical ballet was perhaps the most visible symbol of aristocratic culture and its isolation from the rest of Russian society under the tsars. In the wake of the October Revolution, ballet, like all of the arts, fell under the auspices of the Soviet authorities. In light of these events, many feared that the imperial ballet troupes would be disbanded. Instead, the Soviets attempted to mold the former imperial ballet to suit their revolutionary cultural agenda and employ it to reeducate the masses. As Christina Ezrahi’s groundbreaking study reveals, they were far from successful in this ambitious effort to gain complete control over art.

Swans of the Kremlin offers a fascinating glimpse at the collision of art and politics during the volatile first fifty years of the Soviet period. Ezrahi shows how the producers and performers of Russia’s two major troupes, the Mariinsky (later Kirov) and the Bolshoi, quietly but effectively resisted Soviet cultural hegemony during this period. Despite all controls put on them, they managed to maintain the classical forms and traditions of their rich artistic past and to further develop their art form. These aesthetic and professional standards proved to be the power behind the ballet’s worldwide appeal. The troupes soon became the showpiece of Soviet cultural achievement, as they captivated Western audiences during the Cold War period.

Based on her extensive research into official archives, and personal interviews with many of the artists and staff, Ezrahi presents the first-ever account of the inner workings of these famed ballet troupes during the Soviet era. She follows their struggles in the postrevolutionary period, their peak during the golden age of the 1950s and 1960s, and concludes with their monumental productions staged to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the revolution in 1968.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, School, Research

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2012

Reviews

[Adriana Gogioiu]

I finished it in time to write an essay on it!! Screw EVERYONE who didn’t believe in me!!! Very interesting look at ballet in the Soviet era, though!! I really felt like I was in on all the 1950s Bolshoi gossip and drama. Gotta go watch some drambalet now because I don’t really get what it is.

[C.P. Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of the process by which ballet, that most aristocratic of arts, became a major cultural expression of Soviet Russia, protected and supported by the communist state. The author focuses on the lesser-known 1950s and 1960s, although she gives a solid survey of the period before and an effective if brief summary of the Brezhnev years. Her basic argument is that when the state is pushing artists to create ballets of contemporary relevance, what appears to be conservatism (here the preservation of the classical heritage) may in fact be a kind of subversion. Beyond that, she urges us to take a more complex view of the Soviet state's relationship with ballet.

That argument convinced me. I would have liked to see more attention to the political arguments, for which there is quite a bit of evidence, and to a broader range of experimental ballets than the few examined here. On the whole, though, this is a valuable study that anyone interested in the history of ballet should read.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ezrahi writes a compelling and simple summary of how ballet adapted (and transformed) after the Russian Revolution. Although the prose may seem dry, ballet enthusiasts will quickly find themselves hooked on her explanation of the progression from dramballet to the final version of Spartacus. I expected the book to focus more on the ballerinas (the title "swans") than on the Soviet approach to ballet in a practical-minded regime.

Ultimately, I really loved learning from this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys history and a beautifully-executed ballet production.

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking and thorough read for those who love art, dance, and history.Though it can be dense for the uncommitted reader and those not too familiar with ballet or history, this incredible synopsis of ballet's survival and thriving in Soviet Russia is well-worth the read for those wanting to experience art's triumph over politics.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry. Super difficult to get into.

[Niklaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una eccellente analisi storico-artistica del balletto tra il crepuscolo degli Zar e la piena era sovietica (fino al collasso del sistema). Come una arte, inizialmente biasimata come degenerazione inutile dei nobili (ma amata dal popolo non appena la vedeva) è riuscita a destreggiarsi tra i tentativi di cancellare il repertorio classico (imponendo storie edificanti per la religione socialista, minimizzando la parte danzata in favore della pantomima/recitata), adesione di facciata e infine, dopo i burrascosi anni 20, di usarla come simbolo della cultura russa.
Non è un trattato di danza ma di storia sovietica. Il confronto tra i protagonisti (direttori/registi teatro - in primis il Bolshoi - e danzatori) e il sistema, fa luce su un periodo in cui nulla era certo e in cui il teatro divenne, anche, una via di fuga dai problemi quotidiani. Ottima anche l'analisi delle differenze tra la grammatica/tecnica del repertorio esportato prima (Ballets Russes, la Pavlova, etc) e durante l'era sovietica (tra i transfughi più famosi non appena furono permesse le trasferte fu Baryšnikov
e poi Nureev) e la versione che l'isolamento forzato degli artisti russi permise di preservare.

A tutti gli effetti un saggio storico sulla vita artistica durante il periodo sovietico.

[Aoife · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this 3 stars as I have to admit that I did find this a little hard going at times. I have no background in ballet nor am I a regular ballet goer but I just wanted to know about ballet in the soviet era and to try understand why the Bolshoi and Kirov (Mariinsky) have such great reputations. This book can be read by somebody with my limited background but I did find it a little repetitive in parts (though that may have been me missing more subtle points). I found the some chapters really interesting and others less so but I'm glad I read this; I definitely learnt a fair bit and am happy with that.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry and academic. This is not a popular history book at all. Some interesting information, but it takes some determined reading to find it. The book is very repetitive. Each chapter has a long intro and a conclusion and you can find the exact same sentence or phrase in the intro, the chapter body, and the conclusion.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most analytically/theoretically sophisticated, but contains a wealth of fascinating details, product of diligent research.

[Mills College Library]

792.80947 E99 2012