Carsten Goehrke, Russian Everyday Life: A History in Nine Time-Pictures from the Early Middle Ages to the Present/Russischer Alltag: Eine Geschichte in Neun Zeitbildern Vom Fruhmittelalter Bis Zur Gegewart (Book Review)

Carsten Goehrke, Russischer Alltag: Eine Geschichte in neun Zeitbildern vom Fruhmittelalter bis zur Gegewart [Russian Everyday Life: A History in Nine Time-Pictures from the Early Middle Ages to the Present], 3 vols. Vol. 1: Die Vormoderne [Before Modernity]. 471 pp. Zurich: Chronos, 2003. ISBN 3304005830. 39.80 [euro]. Vol. 2: Auf dem Weg indie Moderne [On the Road to Modernity]. 547 pp. Zurich: Chronos, 2003. ISBN 3034005849. 39.80 [euro]. Vol. 3: Sowjetiscbe Moderne und Umbrucb [Soviet Modernity and Transformation]. 554 pp. Zurich: Chronos, 2005. ISBN 3034005857. 39.80 [euro]. "Everyday history," long a significant sphere of European historiography, has belatedly come to Russian historical scholarship. (1) Western historians, to be sure, are cautious about invoking this descriptor, (2) but Russian researchers have been far more wont to do so, with the terra povsednevnaia zhizn' having become firmly entrenched in Russian national historiography? In large measure, of course, the interest in "everyday history" reflects a shift long underway, with the emphasis moving from elitist political history to the lesser social strata, with particular attention to their living conditions and culture. Quantity, however, does not necessarily mean quality; a focus on the quotidian can mean anything from "pots and pans" to a sophisticated theoretical conception with a clear definition of goals, methods, and parameters. Far too often, it is tempting to invoke the mantra of "everyday history" but without an explicit formulation of what this means.