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Soviet Archaeology
Trends, Schools, and History
Leo S. Klejn
Translated by Kevin Windle and Rosh Ireland
432 pages
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55 in-text illustrations and 7 colour maps
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216x138mm
978-0-19-960135-6
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Hardback
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29 November 2012
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- An updated English translation of Leo S. Klejn's volume, which originally appeared in Russian and German
- A key account of the history of Soviet archaeology from a Russian archaeologist's experiences and perspectives
- Illustrated throughout with photographs and colour maps
In Soviet Archaeology: Trends, Schools, and History the Russian archaeologist Leo Klejn examines the peculiar phenomenon which was Soviet archaeology, showing where it differs from Western archaeology and the archaeology of pre-revolutionary Russia, and where it reveals similarities. In this revised and expanded volume, he asks whether Soviet archaeology can be regarded as Marxist, and, if so, whether Marxism was to Russian archaeology a help or a hindrance at that time. Were the writings of Soviet archaeologists mere propaganda, driving their own political agenda, or can they be read as objective studies of our past?
Klejn shows that
Soviet archaeology was no monolithic bloc, though Soviet ideologists attempted to present it as such. Rather it was divided into competing schools and trends and, even beneath the veil of Marxist ideology, was often closely related to movements current in Western archaeology. Inside the system, however, the slightest deviation from the Party line was regarded as hostile, those guilty being often dismissed from their posts and condemned to life imprisonment in the Gulag, or even to death.
As an archaeologist working during the turbulent years of Soviet rule, Klejn presents an account which is at once scholarly and vivid. He traces the history of archaeology in Russia from 1917 to 1991 and through the years which followed, recounting the lives and fates of prominent
Soviet archaeologists in graphic descriptions with accompanying illustrations.Readership: For students, scholars, and members of the public interested in archaeology and the history of Soviet Russia.
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Leo S. Klejn, Emeritus Professor, St Petersburg University Translated by Kevin Windle, Associate Professor of Translation Studies and Russian, Australian National University, Canberra, and Rosh Ireland, Honorary Visiting Fellow in the School of Language Studies, Australian National University, CanberraLeo S. Klejn is Emeritus Professor at St Petersburg University, formerly Leningrad University. From 1960 until 1981 he taught archaeology at Leningrad University. In 1981 he was arrested on the initiative of KGB and sentenced to a minimal term imprisonment. After his release, his titles were
removed and he was unable to find employment for ten years. During the reorganization of the Soviet government in the 1980s, Klejn's papers began to be printed again, and he was allowed to go abroad. He began lecturing as a visiting professor in West Berlin, Vienna, Copenhagen, Turku, Seattle, and Madrid. In 1994 he was invited to lecture at St Petersburg University as Professor of Cultural Anthropology. He retired in 1997 but continued to write and publish books. Since 2008 Klejn has been working as a columnist in the Russian newspaper for scholars Troitsky Variant. He has published over 460 works, including 15 monographs and 25 new translations and editions.
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Translators' note
From the author
List of Illustrations
Part I: History and the Present
1: The 'Great Unknown'
2: The Stages of a Long Journey
3: Generations and Aspirations
4: A Spectrum of Trends
5: The Arena of Debate
Part II: Facets of a new science
6: Under the Sign of History
7: The archaeology of a Great Power: the complications of composition
8: Archaeology under the red flag
9: Childe and Soviet archaeology
10: Reading between Lines
Part III: Personalities in the system
11: Unbridled intellect and revolution: N. Ya. Marr
12: The red demon of archaeology: the saga of V. I. Ravdonikas
13: A Historian Armed with a Spade: A. V. Artsikhovsky
14: Prince of Soviet Archaeology: B. A. Rybakov
15: The masters and their roles.
Conclusion: Retrospective and Perspective.
Bibliography
ANNEX
A. A. Formozov: On L. S. Klejn s book The Phenomenon of Soviet Archaeology and on the phenomenon itself.
L. S. Klejn: More on Soviet archaeology and Marxism: A professor s reply to a professor s son
List of abbreviations
Indices
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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