Question by K2010: what is the difference Soviet culture and Russian culture?
@Slava, what is a Soviet nationality?
Answers and Views:
Answer by TheAsker
The difference is that the Soviets were a large group of countries, more then just Russia. Even though they split up in 1992, there are technically some Soviets around. Russians, however, are just Russians.
Answer by Slava T
Kate, any culture has its own “message”, its own foundation, its own tradition. It has nothing to do with ethnicity of a particular actor, writer etc. For example, Dmitry Shostakovitch, a Jew, was as much Russian composer as Petr Tchaikovsky but Russian Sholokhov was a SOVIET author. Does it make any sense?
P.S. To put in a nutshell the point is about “cultural continuation”. From this point of view Shostakovitch developed Russian classical musical tradition when Sholokhov argued AGAINST the Russian culture in support of the Soviet one. The Soviet culture was extremely ideologised field meticulously “cleaned up” of any national themes, above all Russian. The Soviet culture was a “nationless” “culture broth” full of microbes of ideological rhetoric. People who identify themselves with this culture are Soviet nationals.
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Michael Lastname says
Russian culture was around 1000 years before the USSR was formed.
Sun of the desert says
Ok let me point out to you the main differences if I must!
Soviet- could be a Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian and other ethnicity.
Russian- Someone who is of Russian and Slavic decent.
Russian- Czar Nicolas
Soviet-Stalin (he was a Georgian, defiantly not a Russian)
Russian- Lenin (he considered himself mostly Russian although of mixed ancestry)
Soviet-Trotsky (Jew, in Russia Jews are considered a ethnic group)
Russian-General Zhukov
Soviet-Khrushchev (Ukrainian)
Russian-Tchaikovsky
Soviet- Mikoyan (Armenian)
Russian-Molotov
Soviet-Beria (Georgian)
Russian-Svetlana Stalin (Was raised as a Russian)
Soviet-Boris Pasternak (he was a Jew)
Russian-Putin
Soviet-Lazar Kaganovich (Jew)
So just because you live in the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union does not automatically make you a Russian. In order to be considered an actual Russian you have to be of mostly known Russian ancestry! You also have to be completely raised in the Russian culture and your ancestors have to have been Russian orthodox or atheist! Do you now get why Jews and Georgians aren’t Russians? How about Armenians and Tartars? See Russian classification doesn’t work like it does here in the USA where everyone is considered American.