Russia’s foremost historian of culture reflects on the cultural functions of cynicism in Soviet and post-Soviet society. He ruefully concludes that Russia has yet to escape the Soviet paradigm: the Pussy Rioters, in their demonstrations against official cynicism, were merely the latest incarnation
Capitalism has not been kind to morals and ethics in Russia, and the world of television is no exception. Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing has become more important than making programmes of quality and worth, says Lyubov Borusyak.
Cynicism, originally a philosophy in ancient Greece, is now the prevailing mood in Putinist Russia, and, Lev Gudkov believes, a uniquely destructive force.
Is cynicism the glue that keeps Russia's regime from falling apart? Alexei Levinson introduces a new series on openDemocracy Russia.
