The Russian Century is the most comprehensive and accessible collection of readings devoted to Russian culture and civilization. The fascinating first-person accounts paint a vivid picture of the Russian people through the turbulent years of the collapse of the Soviet Union. This book allows readers to see Russia through the private lives of people who come from diverse backgrounds, various educational and socio-economic experiences, and a broad geographic spectrum. Diary entries, personal sketches, memoirs, and letters tell these stories in an intimate and authentic voice of immediate experience rather than the distant, general flow of history. Translated into English for the first time, personal matters as well as the larger social and political context are revealed in a manner that provides significant insight into a powerful, distinctive, and influential culture. All too often the Russian experience has been presented as either horrific or heroic. This volume goes beyond that approach and deals with areas which have received little or no attention to existing studies of Russian history and culture-love, sexuality, courtship, marriage, family life, work, education, and religion.