Lara Forster
PhD project: Times of Change and Unrest. The Years of 1905, 1917-1921, and 1928-1932 Reflected in the Diaries of Mikhail Prishvin
This PhD project focuses on the diaries of Mikhail Prishvin (1873-1954), a Russian/Soviet author who chronicled his life from 1905 until his death. Prishvin was a moderately successful agronomist and writer in the late Russian Empire. Yet, after the Bolsheviks had consolidated their power, he became an even more successful Soviet author. His diaries span almost five decades, covering the late Russian Empire, the Civil War, the foundation of the Soviet Union as well as Stalinist terror and the Second World War. The fact that they remained private (and critical) even during the Soviet era makes them an extraordinary source, which includes literary elements as well as ‘typical’ diary entries, pictures and notes. They offer glimpses into the mind of someone who lived through, reflected on, and successfully acted in times of change and unrest. Over time, Prishvin incorporated core values acquired during Russia’s imperial period and adapted them into Soviet frames of action. Hence, he found his place within the new order without ever truly accepting it.
The concept of temporality is well suited to understanding the process of self-localisation in times of imperial collapse and transformation. This project adapts the concept of “Eigenzeit” (own time) to the experience of individuals. Thus, it is possible to analyse not only Prishvin’s perception and concept of time but also thinking patterns and core values that carry temporal meaning and may simultaneously coexist in a person. Their configuration allows for a differentiated analysis of how individuals manage changes around them, how outside events alter this nexus, and which late-imperial factors persist despite the expectation of a complete break with the past. What roles do time and temporality play in Prishvin’s understanding of himself and the world? To what extent do historical upheavals influence central aspects of this, and how do individual layers of time compete or influence each other? How present is the Russian Empire with its dominant rhetorical fields even after its demise? What did Prishvin’s ‘own time’ look like and how did it evolve?