„Vsjak na Rusi – bezdomnyj“: Überlegungen zum russischen Haus

Abstract

In the western civilization, house, home and domestic area have evolved through time under the processes of urbanization and modernization and are closely related to notions found in Roman law: legal security, private property, individuality and citizenship. The Russian medieval “Domostroj” is the only text to be compared with the western tradition of ‘home’. The disintegration of the Russian home initiated much research interest of an historical nature. But a systematic analysis of reflections, verdicts, and concerns about the concept of the Russian home and its social structures is still required. This article combines ideas and methods from literature, sociology, historical and Slavonic studies to systematically analyze how the Russian concept of home has developed. Contrary to the Soviet slogan “stroit’ socializm”, the Russian relationship between human individual and his home is problematic, but essential to self-perception. Lastly, an analysis is given of the Russian concept of home using four examples from 20th century literature: Gladkov, Platonov, Čukovskaja, Trifonov. Considering the modern idea of ‘placelessness’ and ‘homelessness’, this article emphasizes the widespread problematic Russian human-house interaction.