From: fourdufours@earthlink.net (Steven Dufour) Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien,alt.fan.tolkien,alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic,alt.religion.tolkienology,alt.religion.unification Subject: Russian "Tolkienists" ? References: <> Lines: 188 Message-ID: Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 06:53:01 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 64.156.224.187 X-Complaints-To: abuse@earthlink.net X-Trace: newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net 1007967181 64.156.224.187 (Sun, 09 Dec 2001 22:53:01 PST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 09 Dec 2001 22:53:01 PST Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net X-Received-Date: Sun, 09 Dec 2001 22:52:52 PST (newsmaster1.prod.itd.earthlink.net) Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.mailgate.org!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.direct.ca!look.ca!newsfeed1.earthlink.net!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newsmaster1.prod.itd.earthlink.net!newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.arts.books.tolkien:62419 ... Hi everyone, This is an e-mail I sent to Professor Hooker of the University of Indiana and his reply which he gave me permission to repost on the Internet. (BTW someone should tell the Russian Tolkienists that we need to rebel AGAINST Morgoth.) Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 19:48:43 -0800 (PST) From: Steve Dufour To: Mark Hooker Subject: Tolkienists? Hello Mr. Hooker, I just read about you on the University of Indiana Web site. Very interesting. I wonder though if the Russian Tolkienists are real? I consider myself a Tolkienist in that I find inspiration in his books, but I wonder about the Russians who are said to want to start a new religion based on them. For one thing they don't seem to get on the Internet, at least not in English. I've talked to several Russians about Tolkien and they all say, "We're fans but these other people someplace else are something more. They want to start a new religion." Thanks, Steve Dufour, Pleasant Hill, CA Dear Mr. Dufour, The development of Tolkienism in the former Soviet Union, and Russia has indeed resulted in some interesting developments like the one that you ask about: the creation of a ÒTolkienian Church.Ó When The Lord of the Rings was first published (1954), the political climate in the Soviet Union made it impossible to officially publish it. It was essentially a banned book. Censors feared that Russian readersÑwhose favorite game is reading between the lines for hidden meaningsÑwould see it as an allegory for the Cold War which pitted the ÒPolitical EastÓ against the ÒPolitical West.Ó You can see a reflection of that fear in the official Russian translation of The Hobbit (1976),1 in which the words ÒeastÓ and ÒwestÓ have been disappeared any place that they could be (mis)interpreted as ÒThe Political EastÓ and ÒThe Political West.Ó Like many banned books, The Lord of the Rings circulated in the illegal underground of ÒsamizdatÓ until the rise of Perestroika and the fall of Communism in the early 1990s. Because samizdat books circulated in closed, small, conspiratorial circles of readers, and were not simply widely-available in book shops, numerous translators came forward to translate Tolkien for their families and friends, each unaware that someone else had already done so. TolkienÕs life in the underground of ÒsamizdatÓ resulted in at least ten Russian translations of The Lord of the Rings, each of them different in its own way. The large number of differing translations, is a reflection of the great diversity of the Russian mental landscape, which was parodied in a joke from the Soviet era: ÒHow many Russians does it take to form 5 political parties?Ó The answer was a surprising: ÒThree.Ó Many Russian intellectuals love endless philosophical debates. It is one of the things that makes them interesting people to know. This diversity is also reflected in Russian Tolkienism. One of its branches is the one that you asked about. At a Round Table discussion entitled ÒProfessor Tolkien and his HeritageÓ held on 22 April 2000 at the Russian State University for the Humanities in Moscow, Mikhail A. Sivertsev began his presentation (ÒTolkienism as an Element of Neo-ReligiosityÓ) with a provocative question to which he gives his own provocative reply. ÒDo the prerequisites exist for the development of a Tolkienian Church, not just the concept, but an organization with all the appropriate attributes?Ó He listed a minimum of four characteristics necessary for that to happen. The first is the presence of a holy text. The second is the potential of constructing a sacred history. The third is the presence of Tolkienists, who have not read Tolkien. The fourth is the continuing discussion of who is a Tolkienist. All of these are characteristics of existing religions, and all of them are true of Tolkienism in Russia. He concluded with the assertion that the appearance of Òa strong Tolkienian ChurchÓ within the next hundred years is indeed a possibility. There was a strong negative audience reaction to SivertsevÕs presentation, which the next speaker, Aleksandra Barkova (ÒThe History and Meaning of the Culture of TolkienismÓ and ÒTolkienist ThinkingÓ), attributed to modern RussiansÕ concept of ÒThe ChurchÓ with its associations of State control and hierarchical structures built up during the Soviet period. She noted that throughout its history, the Tolkienist movement has strived to avoid these kinds of structures. ÒThe idea of introducing membership cards for some Tolkienist Club runs contrary to the essence of Russian Tolkienism.Ó The key difference between Tolkienism as it has taken shape on the territory of the former Soviet Union and as it has taken shape in America lies in Òthe questioning of TolkienÕs system of values.Ó This is Òto a considerable extent, the core of the Russian Tolkienist movement.Ó This does not mean that Russian Tolkienists completely reject all of TolkienÕs values. ÒWe love Aragorn, especially the ladies, we deeply respect Frodo, but at the same time we cannot forgive the Valar for the loss of Numenor and many other things.Ó Melkorianism, rebellion, is the quintessence of Russian Tolkienism. The Russian Tolkienist movement grew out of Òopposition to Soviet ideology,Ó which forms one of the two component parts of the movement; the first being TolkienÕs works themselves. This opposition to governmental structures, in turn, led to the questioning of TolkienÕs values. ÒWe all remember the ÔAinulindale,Õ we all remember the prescriptiveness of the Ôthemes given outÕ by Iluvatar.Ó Russian Tolkienism is anti-establishmentarian. The creation of a ÔChurchÕ based on a writerÕs philosophy should come as no surprise in the context of Russia. Lev Tolstoy (1828-1910) had a considerable following by the 1880s, both in and outside of Russia. His estate at Yasnaya Polyana was a pilgrimage site. The Tolstoyan Church still has adherents in Russia. Daniil Andreev (1906-1959), the author of The Rose of the World, also has a following of sorts. As Barkova noted in her presentation, the creation of a ÒTolkienian ChurchÓ is hardly main-stream Russian-Tolkienist thinking. There are numerous Russian gamers (a la The Society for Creative Anachronism), who attend the ÒHobbit GamesÓ in costume, fight in tournaments, read their own Tolkien-inspired prose and sing their own Tolkien-inspired songs. There are serious scholarly Russian Tolkienists, who study the mythic, folkloric and linguistic sources of TolkienÕs works, and endlessly split hairs over the correct translation of his elegant, complex and sometimesÑeven for American English speakersÑdifficult to understand prose. You are quite right. There is very little available on this Russian Tolkienist in English, even on the Web, but I have written an entire book, attempting to explain Russian Tolkienism to an English-speaking audience. The tentative title is Tolkien Through Russian Eyes. The manuscript is presently in search of a publisher. In the meantime, for those who would like a preview of what the book contains, excerpts are available in print in: Ê ÊÊ the published papers of the conference entitled ÒConcerning Hobbits and Other Matters: Tolkien Ê ÊÊ Across the Disciplines,Ó which was held at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. I Ê ÊÊ was the key-note speaker. An order form can be found at Ê ÊÊ http://www.stthomas.edu/engl/English/tolkien.htm. Ê ÊÊ a Lembas-extra (Lembas is the organ of the Dutch Tolkien Society , Unquendor), containing the Ê ÊÊ papers (in English) presented at the 4th Lustrum (20th Anniversary) Celebration of the founding of Ê ÊÊ Unquendor held in Brielle, at which I presented a paper. When it comes out after the first of the Ê ÊÊ year, it will be available at http://www.xs4all.nl/~rossnbrg/worksont.htm or you can e-mail Ê ÊÊ info@tolkienshop.com to reserve a copy. Ê ÊÊ Vinyar Tengwar. They have accepted an article for publication in a future issue. Watch http://www.elvish.org/VT for the publication date. Regards, Mark Hooker Mthooker (at) indiana (dot) E D U