Overview

Aleksandr Prokhanov is a prize-winning novelist and, as editor of the weekly newspaper Zavtra, a leading figure in Russian imperial patriotism. Ever since 1991, when he signed (and reputedly wrote) the manifesto for the failed putsch against Mikhail Gorbachev, he has been an influential voice in Russian political culture-helping to turn the ""irreconcilable opposition"" of the 1990s towards empire, grappling with the difficult question of whether to endorse Vladimir Putin as a savior, and promulgating a bewildering series of conspiracy theories. He has also been a remarkably prolific writer. His novels are at once muck-raking and lyrical, with Moscow scandal interwoven with the mystical yearnings of 'cosmism.' The same themes recur again and again in his articles as well as his novels: conspiracies, space exploration, the resurrection of the dead, and Stalin as a supernatural redeemer. This book strives to understand Prokhanov as the leading representative of post-Soviet esotericism, a school of thought that has acquired wide resonance in Russia since the collapse of the USSR.

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9783838209630

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"""We have been waiting for a long time for a book on Alexander Prokhanov, and here it is. Prokhanov has been a central figure in the Russian nationalist landscape. Edmund Griffiths finally offers us a very useful analysis of Prokhanov's ideological contribution to today's Russia, and explores the different faces of Prokhanov's Stalinist imperialist esotericism."" Marlene Laruelle, Research Professor of International Affairs, George Washington University “Edmund Griffiths’ engagingly written and erudite new book on the writing and political thought of Aleksandr Prokhanov adds important dimensions to our understanding of this crucial figure in the Russian nationalist pantheon. The author analyzes Prokhanov’s work as a significant contribution to what he calls the “red-brown esoteric patriotism” of post-Soviet Russia. For today’s reader, the linkages between Prokhanov’s world view and Vladimir Putin’s own imperialist thinking and actions in Ukraine are profound.” Norman M. Naimark, Stanford University"

""We have been waiting for a long time for a book on Alexander Prokhanov, and here it is. Prokhanov has been a central figure in the Russian nationalist landscape. Edmund Griffiths finally offers us a very useful analysis of Prokhanov's ideological contribution to today's Russia, and explores the different faces of Prokhanov's Stalinist imperialist esotericism."" Marlene Laruelle, Research Professor of International Affairs, George Washington University “Edmund Griffiths’ engagingly written and erudite new book on the writing and political thought of Aleksandr Prokhanov adds important dimensions to our understanding of this crucial figure in the Russian nationalist pantheon. The author analyzes Prokhanov’s work as a significant contribution to what he calls the “red-brown esoteric patriotism” of post-Soviet Russia. For today’s reader, the linkages between Prokhanov’s world view and Vladimir Putin’s own imperialist thinking and actions in Ukraine are profound.” Norman M. Naimark, Stanford University

Author Information

Edmund Griffiths holds a Doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Research Fellow at Wolfson College from 2007–2014. He is the author of Towards a Science of Belief Systems (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

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