Aryanism and Asianism in the Quest for Russian Identity

Abstract

In the late nineteenth century, the growing popularity of the Aryanist and Asianist (Vostochnik) movements attracted many members of Russia’s political and educated elite. This chapter outlines Russian music theoretical discourse on cultural affiliation with the Aryan race and reveals that there was a widespread agreement that in Russia Aryan or Asian culture was far more influential than that of Europe. Some Russian music critics argued that the Russian connection to the East could be traced in the modal or pentatonic structure of folk melodies, while others believed that Russian musical instruments were proof of Russia’s Asian heritage. Because of growing nationalism and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), discourses of Russian cultural superiority proliferated at the turn of the century. Although music writings did not overtly claim Russia’s cultural preeminence, they suggested it through visual representations of Asian and Russian musicians, and discussion of the repertoire of Russian instruments.