Monitor ISH (Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences) has been published twice a year since 2001. The journal features scholarly articles in the fields of humanities and social sciences, ranging from anthropology to linguistics, in both Slovenian and English. All articles are available online. The journal publishes contributions by professors and students who explore diverse topics within the humanities and social sciences. ISSN: 1580-688X e-ISSN: 1580-7118 Media registry number: 272 The journal is indexed in dLib.si – Digital Library of Slovenia and included in international abstracting and indexing databases: ERIH+ – European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Sciences IBZ – Internationale Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur
Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis, Alma Mater Press
Russian Emigrants in Slovenian Newspaper Battles
The split between Liberals and Catholics marked a long period of public and political life in Slovenia. An important role in the outbreak and maintenance of this conflict was played by the leading press of the time. The Russian emigrants who had sought refuge in Slovenia soon found themselves caught in the crossfire between the two camps. Of the stories about Russian emigrants published in the interbellum press (Jutro, Slovenec, Slovenski Narod), public interest concentrated on the events accompanying the eviction of Russian students from the Ljubljana Castle. Two other notable events were Bishop Jeglič’s pre-election visit to the Russian shanties near the Ljubljana railway station and Fran Grivec’s lecture in support of Russian refugees. These stories, by which each camp sought to demonstrate (mainly to the other) the high level of its local ‘pro-Russian’ stance, were intended as proof of their wider ‘Slavic’ policies.
Russia as Seen by Slovenian Politics from the Sarajevo Assassination to the Outbreak of the World War in 1914
After the Sarajevo assassination of June 28th, 1914, Slovenian politicians carefully observed the actions of the European superpowers. The contemporary international role and significance of the Russian Empire were considered by the Catholic and Liberal camps but ignored by the Marxist camp. Slovenian politics saw Russia as a dangerous country, hostile to Austria-Hungary, and as a threat to European peace. The most negative attitude to Russia, based on Austrian patriotism, was adopted by the Catholic camp, which supported its anti-Russian stance with ideological and religious reasons. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia on August 6th, 1914, Slovenians were convinced of Austrian victory. In the course of the war, however, the Slovenian outlook on Russia changed: as the anti-Austrian disposition grew, Russia began to be seen in a more favourable light by the Catholic and Liberal camps alike.
The matica is a type of Slavic cultural institution that was established in the 19th century by all Slavic peoples of the Habsburg Monarchy, including the Galician Russophiles in 1848. The establishment of the Slovenian Matica was promoted by certain Russian individuals and institutions. In 1924, when the Russian Matica in Galicia had almost ceased to exist, Russian refugees to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians established their own ‘Russian Matica’ in Ljubljana. Several branches sprang up in various parts of the Kingdom. The Russian Matica organised lectures, literary evenings, Sunday school, literary competitions, sports events, exhibitions, and courses in the Russian language, photography and music, while also providing special funds for poor children, Russian schools, the disabled, etc. Its most successful branch was the one in Novi Sad (Serbia), while its planned publishing activity was not as vigorous as its work on establishing Russian libraries. The Russian Matica died out with the occupation of Yugoslavia by the Fascist and Nazi troops in 1941.
Russian emigrants to Yugoslavia 1918—1945
Intelligentsia in Russia, Intellectuals in Slovenia
During their complex, initially spontaneous and later predominantly dictated modernisation, the western countries accepted intellectuals into their state apparatuses. As a result, the latter never formed an independent, oppositional group of citizens. They subscribed to various ideological trends while working as intellectuals in the public sphere. Russia, on the other hand, underwent a different process. Under the special circumstances accompanying the development of an autocratically ruled Russian Empire, which was drawn into modernisation processes by orders ‘from above’ (Peter I, Catherine II, Alexander II), the educated stratum organised itself as a particular group of citizens – the intelligentsia. These were crucially defined by their critical attitude to the government. In 1917, following the downfall of the imperial rule, which was incapable of a quick and radical self-reform, this stratum found itself in the ruler’s capacity, but their inability for constructive work soon deprived them of power. They were superseded by professional revolutionaries, who were their rivals in opposing the Empire. Most of the intelligentsia emigrated abroad, where they initially tried to work as they had in Russia, but the new currents in their host countries transformed their status into that of intellectuals. In Soviet Russia, on the other hand, the newly trained intelligentsia gained a different role: they were to ensure a professional construction of socialism. This was likewise the case in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, including Slovenia, where the concept of the intelligentsia first appeared in its Soviet variety, after the Communist revolution.
Spektorsky and the Fate of His History of Social Philosophy
Evgeny V. Spektorsky (1875–1951) based his monograph, a survey of the history of social science ideas, on his teaching experience at the universities of Warsaw, Kiev, Prague, Belgrade and Ljubljana. The manuscript, finished by mid-1931, was accepted for publication by the Slovenska Matica publishing house on the recommendation of Anton Lajovic, lawyer and composer. Entitled The History of Social Philosophy, it was translated into Slovenian by Josip Vidmar and published in two volumes in 1932 and 1933. The print run was high: 5,000 copies of Volume I and 4,500 copies of Volume II. Spektorsky argued for a genetic analysis of the history of social science thought, which he saw as a treasury of ideas influencing human life. He emphasised the impact of ideas because these had, in his view, left a deeper impact on the history of mankind than scientific studies or proofs of eternal truths. Although critical of Marxism, whose pretensions to a scientific world view he saw as a mere propaganda move, Spektorsky never accepted dogmatic views.
Russian Traces from World War I in Slovenia
Most citizens from Tsarist Russia who were present in Slovenia during World War I were Russian prisoners of war. Their estimated number was between 20,000 and 30,000, but a more precise figure may be yielded by research in the archives, which are to become more accessible in the future. Russian prisoners of war were sent to the hinterland of the Isonzo front, and there was a strict demarcation line between those responsible for the construction of strategically important (military) objects and communication systems near the frontline (roads, water supply network, railways, cable cars, airports, warehouses, etc.) and those engaged in community service (farmers, workers, craftsmen) throughout Carniola, the Littoral, Carinthia and Styria. In addition to the (as yet) scarce archival sources, enriched with precious private collections, their lives are most eloquently attested by memorials, gravestones, constructions (roads, railways, a chapel, etc.), place names containing the adjective ‘Russian’, dispersed newspaper articles, photographs, testimonies, and individual objects.
The Russian Emigrant School System in Interbellum Slovenia
In almost every country where they settled, the Russian emigrants who had left their homeland after the defeat of the antirevolutionary forces organised their own school system. This was also the case in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, where Russian emigrant schools were not only included in the educational system of the so-called ‘Expatriate Russia’ but integrated into the educational system of the host country as well. The Russian educational institutions in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians included some recognised institutions from Tsarist Russia, which had emigrated together with their students and teachers after the Russian Civil War, as well as institutions recently founded by Russian emigrants. The territory of present-day Slovenia hosted Russian kindergartens, primary schools, school groups, a Realgymnasium and – briefly – two cadet corps.
The Clash of Worlds in the Ganusov Family: The Murder of Julia Ganusova and Her Son Rostislav in Ljutomer in the Summer of 1923
The study follows the trial of a Russian refugee, Vasily Chernyenko, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in September 1923 by the District Court in Maribor. As a house servant, he had been found guilty of the brutal murder of his employer, 26-year-old Julia Ganusova, and her 3-year-old son Rostislav in July 1923 in Ljutomer. A comprehensive criminal file, discovered by the author in the Regional Archives Maribor, reveals a stunning network of relationships within the Russian Ganusov family, as well as its ties with other Russian refugees and the Ljutomer locals. In the aftermath of World War I there were many Russians, including Julia’s husband, mechanical engineer Alexander Ganusov, who participated in the construction of the railway line Ormož – Ljutomer – Murska Sobota. The author views the story in the light of Freud’s suggestion that pathology is a structural, social deviation rather than an individual one.
the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians
Fran Grivec (1878–1963) and Russian Studies
The study examines the remarkable attitude of Fran Grivec, a Slovenian theologian and researcher of Slavic Christian history, to Russian spirituality and Orthodoxy. Grivec, the initiator and long-time head of the Velehrad Congresses, intentionally highlighted the ecumenical dimension of both theological mission and historical research. This emphasis was particularly evident in his association between the beginnings of Slavic literacy, including the Slovenian ‘Monumenta Frisingensia’, and the mission of the two brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius. Thoroughly familiar with Russian ecclesiastical history, Grivec regularly monitored the state of mind in contemporary Russia and was evidently critical of certain Russian scientific findings. He offered an original interpretation of the evangelical message, referring to a unifying mission to re-establish the older concept of the ‘Universal Church’. The paper is based on his manuscript legacy, especially his correspondence. The latter attests to the international significance of Grivec’s researches, which gained scholarly recognition after WW II.
The Slovenian Period in the Life of E.V. Spektorsky (the 1930s): Unpublished Materials
The paper discusses aspects of the life and work of Russian philosopher and lawyer Spektorsky in Slovenia during the 1930s. Spektorsky was a professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Ljubljana. The study draws chiefly on his unpublished memoirs, stored in the archives of the Institute of Eastern Europe at the University of Bremen, and details the search for this work, long considered lost. Spektorsky’s memoirs include the author’s perceptions of Ljubljana, of its lifestyle and the political and religious life in Slovenia, as well as the distinctive features of the Russian immigrants who taught at the Ljubljana University.
AB BA. Aleksandr Bilimovich and Aleksander Bajt: Searching for the Soul of Economics/Economists
The paper is a study on Aleksander Bajt, the disciple and successor of Aleksandr Bilimovich at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana. More precisely, it compares the claims from his last book, Berman’s Dossier (1999), where he is presented as an internal emigrant and dissident, to his writings between 1953 and 1960. This comparison neither confirms Bajt’s claims from 1999 nor justifies his posture of principle.
Aleksandr Vasilievich Makletsov and the Beginnings of Criminology in Slovenia
Russian scholar Aleksandr Vasilievich Makletsov is arguably the father of Slovenian criminology, having developed numerous criminal law theories at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana from 1926 until his death. With more than 150 scholarly works published in different languages, and with his work at the then barely established University of Ljubljana, he raised the general academic level of the lectures and significantly contributed to the University’s promotion. A respected member of the Ruska Matica cultural society, he actively participated in establishing and promoting its activities, helped his new homeland by acting as the official translator into Russian for the Ministry of Justice, and was an amateur poet and translator of poetry. The purpose of this text is to highlight the pedagogical and scholarly importance of the erudite Professor Makletsov, as well as to show his commitment in the fields of politics, literature, translation and editing.
Thinking the Interview: On the Epistemology of an Intersubjective Field Method (Part I)
The paper presents the complex issue of understanding and conducting an interview as the predominant form of empirical qualitative research. The epistemology of this particular intersubjective field method is viewed from an interdisciplinary perspective, despite the assumption that the interview method as a means of collecting data and information has been brought to the most differentiated uses and sophisticated reflections by the anthropological science. The red thread of the text’s argument is the constant adaptability, changeability and interchangeability of the subject and object positions which are established by researcher and informant in an interview. For an easier grasp of the fluid, flexible and circumstantial construction of the particular interpersonal relationship within an interview situation, the author proposes eight perspectives, based on well-established theories of some important thinkers in the field of the social sciences and humanities, which may be helpful in reflecting on the positions, roles, investments, and doings of the two protagonists within an interview situation: performative perspective, derived from the theory of speech acts (John L. Austin); polyphonic perspective, based on the theory of enunciation (Oswald Ducrot); interpellational perspective, developed on the basis of the theory of ideology (Louis Althusser); discursive perspective, underpinned by the theory of power and authority (Michel Foucault); psychoanalytic perspective, centred around the theory of the unconscious (Sigmund Freud); ethnographic perspective, capped by the theory of reflexivity (Pierre Bourdieu); mnemonic perspective, grounded on the theory of memory (Maurice Halbwachs); dramaturgical perspective, supported by the theory of interaction (Erving Goffman). Whether the interview is taken as a research method, a special social encounter or a series of tasks to be performed by interviewer and interviewee, it is clear that each and every interview is a unique event of specific human contact and communication.
Identity in Intergenerational Communication
The article presents several aspects of communication, especially between generations. Underlining the informational and relational aspects of communication, it presents the communication process as a field in which identities are constructed. Individuals constantly classify themselves and others into groups, establishing relationships which reflect the characteristics of the statuses ascribed. The paper presents the misunderstandings which occur in intergenerational communication, explains the role played by stereotypes and negative attitudes to aging in the formation of the identities ascribed, and explores how these identities may affect the communication processes and interpersonal relationships, which are built by and through communication. Of special importance are the manifestations of ageism in everyday interactions (patronising talk, particularly overaccommodation and secondary baby talk): manifestations based upon stereotypes concerning ‘older people’, as a segment of the population is discriminatorily categorised.
Dracula is back among us, and so is the remake. The term denotes a new film recorded on the basis of another, earlier film. There have been many such cases in the film repertories of the recent decades. Since the concept of the remake has not been fully explored, the paper focuses on its role instead, presenting several theories which touch – directly or indirectly – on the explanations for this phenomenon. The analysis focuses on the causes and conditions necessary for the emergence of the remake (repetition) within society. The origins of the remake are attributed to the phenomenon of repetition as a condition for the legitimacy and occurrence of the remake, both within society and, consequently, within the film sphere.
Primordialism v. Instrumentalism in Ethnic Studies
The Funeral Ritual for a Deceased Relative: The Factors Which Respectively Decrease and Increase the Distress of the Bereaved
The funeral ceremony is an event designed for the wider community. The bereaved has to process the funeral ceremony by itself as well as various events connected with it. Since these can be experienced either as a source of additional stress or as a support which relieves distress, it is important to study the influence of those factors on the bereavement process. Our research included 18 bereaved individuals of both genders who suffered after they had lost a close family member (partner, parent, child) from various causes within one to two years prior to the interview. An in-depth structured interview was carried out with every participant on the following three topics: the organisation and execution of the funeral; the presence of other people at the funeral; the dress code at and after the funeral. According to our research, the most common factors that relieve distress are: knowing the wishes of the deceased about the desired form of the funeral, large numbers of people attending the funeral, and the possibility for the bereaved to choose the dress colour code at and after the funeral. On the other hand, the stress of the bereaved may be exacerbated during the funeral by not having enough time to say farewell, by the undertakers’ insensitivity and blunders, and by the pressure of the environment to wear mourning.
Where Do Immigrant Children Come From and Why?
The early 21st century continues the trend from the later 20th century: the first-generation immigrant children who move to Slovenia most often come from the states established after the disintegration of former Yugoslavia – from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, as well as from Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro. There are few arrivals from other states and continents, such as Bulgaria, Ukraine, or the United States of America. This article presents certain experiences that vary for each immigrant family, although they may hail from the same country. We quote some of the reasons for immigration as represented by the migrant children and parents themselves, comparing them to the findings of migrant theories. In 2011, semi-structured interviews with immigrant children were conducted in three Slovenian primary schools, and it was ascertained that most of them had come to Slovenia for the sake of family reunion.
Autochthony v. Allochthony in the Context of Ethnic and Minority Issues
A Slovenian Actress of Russian Origin – Maria Nablotskaya
Russian actress Maria Nikolaevna Borislavska, better known as Maria Nablotskaya, was carried by love and an emigration wave to Ljubljana in 1922, where she became a member of Ljubljana’s Drama Theatre after her very first performance. With the help of her second husband, actor and director Boris Putyata, she transferred the knowledge acquired in Russian imperial theatres to the Slovenian territory, where she further developed her talent. Her acting was modern and direct, and her most outstanding roles were those of psychologically realistic tragic and tragicomic female characters. Her humorous gift, on the other hand, was given free scope in European Renaissance comedies. The purpose of this text is to present the career of Maria Nablotskaya from its promising, affluent, carefree beginnings to the great actress’s final years spent in a cramped room, as well as to outline her rich legacy to the Slovenian theatre.
Peter Gresserov-Golovin (1894–1981), My Beloved Slovenia
The paper presents the Russian ballet dancer and choreographer, Peter Gresserov-Golovin. Golovin completed his education in his native Moscow and migrated after the October Revolution to Slovenia, where he continued his artistic work. First in Ljubljana and later in Maribor, he participated as a ballet choreographer in many operas and operettas, and proved himself a capable director of music and theatre performances. Between the wars, he maintained the Slovenian ballet despite the poor financial situation and raised the first generation of Slovenian ballet dancers and soloists. In 1971 he was awarded the Order of Merit for the People with silver rays for his contribution to the Slovenian ballet. The last years of his life were spent in Canada, where he gathered his memories about his life and work in Slovenia in a book with the eloquent title Moja ljuba Slovenija – My Beloved Slovenia.
Alexander Lebedev: Miller, Oil Manufacturer, Wrangel’s Officer, Builder of Yugoslav Railways
The article outlines the life story of a Russian emigrant, Alexander Lebedev, who participated in the construction of the railway line Ormož – Ljutomer – Murska Sobota in the years 1923–1924. As a senior worker, Lebedev was often in conflict with some of the former officers of Wrangel’s army, then employees on the railway line, who therefore filed a criminal complaint against him with Yugoslav authorities on suspicion of communist propaganda. In the established Yugoslav and Russian-Tsarist political imaginary, communist activity was considered a heinous crime, but at the same time it served to unify the two cultural entities, enabling Lebedev to forge a mental bond with his new homeland. The criminal file of the District Court in Maribor reveals the difficulties experienced by Russian emigrants in adjusting to their changed social position and new cultural situation, the most pressing problem being the cancellation of the former military hierarchy.
The Recall of Wrangel’s Troops from the Border Service and Its Implications in Slovenia in 1922
A part of the defeated anti revolutionary army of General Pyotr Nikolaevich Wrangel, which retreated from Russia in 1920, settled in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in June 1921. These so called Wrangel’s troops served in the Yugoslav border guard. In Slovenia they had a poor reputation, as they treated the border population roughly and in several cases even criminally. Another source of discontent was the monetary resources allocated to these troops by the state, while both the populace and politicians resented the troops wearing Russian uniforms, military insignia and tsarist decorations, as well as carrying weapons in public. Therefore the Slovenian territory witnessed increasing complaints that Wrangel’s troops represented a state within a state, and that they should be recalled from the border service, disarmed and exiled from the state. This standpoint was shared by all political camps. When the National Assembly of the Kingdom of SCS decided to recall Wrangel’s troops from the Yugoslav border units, the Slovenian territory, where the presence of those units was more pronounced due to its frontier location, welcomed their departure with relief. With their intimidating behaviour, Wrangel’s troops had harassed the population and disturbed the development of the peacetime spirit restored in the Slovenian society after World War I.
The Academic Career of Nikolai Fedorovich Preobrazhensky (1893–1970)
The article presents the efforts of Nikolai Fedorovich Preobrazhensky, a young and little known Russian scholar, for an academic career at the University of Ljubljana. After the First World War Preobrazhensky decided not to return to Russia, where the Bolshevik revolution had broken out. Encouraged by the goodwill of Slovenian scholars, especially Rajko Nahtigal, whom he had met in Graz, he decided to realise his youthful dream of an academic career at the newly founded University of Ljubljana. But despite his efforts and repeated attempts, his intentions never completely materialised. Unsuccessful attempts at habilitation at the University of Ljubljana, where he taught practical Russian language classes, were an enormous blow to his self-esteem. He succeeded as late as 1958, after he had already been habilitated at the School of Arts in Zadar and decided to leave Slovenia, which became after World War I his second homeland.
Russian Scholars in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The October Revolution and the sequence of events triggered by this coup drove crowds of Russians to foreign lands. On arrival in a new environment, many cultured and highly educated people forged contacts and began to establish various organisations and associations. The primary purpose of these associations was to bring together Russian citizens who had found themselves in a new homeland, to provide them with social support, and to foster their national identity. At the same time the activities of many émigré organisations, with their highly skilled and highly educated membership, significantly contributed to the development of disciplines and activities of various local institutions. The purpose of this text is to present the contribution of Russian emigrants to Yugoslav scholarship. The focus is on various scholarly institutions and associations, which emerged between the arrival of the first large group of Russian emigrants in 1921 and the year 1945, when the activity of the émigré organisations died down.
Russian Scholars at the University of Ljubljana, Russian Artists in Ljubljana’s Theatre: Cultural and Academic Life in Emigration
The Russians exiled after the October Revolution yielded exceptional cultural influence, and the cultural capitals of the Russian émigré society hosted outstanding Russian thinkers and artists. For the Russian emigrants abroad, culture was the cornerstone of national identity. Slovenian cultural and academic life was accordingly stamped by the Russian emigrants who had found refuge in Slovenia, despite the difficult circumstances which awaited them on arrival in their new homeland. They had a major impact on Ljubljana’s fledgling university life and on the local development of several artistic disciplines.
The author discusses a number of Russian economists, statisticians and mathematicians with whose works he became familiar as an economics student. He notes that the Russian authors’ works in the field of economic analysis (mathematical economics) outgrew the framework of the history of economic thought. After presenting their contributions, which emerged in less than two decades of Soviet socialism, he shows that the impact of Russian economists was of global importance and that their work overtook that of their Western counterparts. The economists presented are important for learning and teaching how to raise research problems and what research method to employ, but they are no less important for the philosophy of science.
Videoactivism and ‘Street Television’: Alternative Television in Practice
Strongly influenced by the experience of the US video movement, the beginning of the new millennium produced a special form of the alternative video and television production in Italy, Telestreet. As the 1970s had witnessed the mass spread of alternative radio stations, the country was now flooded with small alternative street television broadcasters, who tried to realise various alternative visions of television. If the video collectives (Videofreex, Raindance Corporation et al.) in the US believed that it was essential to provide people with access to communication tools, street television represented an attempt to bring television closer to people and encourage them to create their own media practices.