The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre: the Attraction of Freedom and Power

Authors

  • Andrei Zorin
  • Evgeny Yemelyanov
  • Elena Burlina
  • Boris Orlov
  • Irina Lisovets

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2018.2.313

Keywords:

Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre; historical memory; cult of personality; liberalism; democratic freedoms

Abstract

This paper summarises interviews with scholars from different cities regarding the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre, which has been operating in Yekaterinburg since 2015. The interviews not only concern the importance of the Yeltsin Centre as a cultural and research institution, but also historical memory about the Yeltsin era, issues of glorification and hero cults in Russian history, and, more broadly, issues connected with Yeltsin’s name. The key topic of the interviews was the peculiar dialectics of freedom and power which manifested themselves so vividly during Yeltsin’s life. The interviews took place at different times, yet the structure and logic of the talks were similar, which makes it possible for the journal to publish them as part of one talk. The interviewees were Andrey Zorin (Dr. Hab. (Philology), Professor; Oxford University, United Kingdom), Evgeny Emelianov (PhD (History); Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre, Yekaterinburg), Elena Burlina (Dr. Hab. (Philosophy), Professor; Samara State Medical University), Boris Orlov and Irina Lisovets (PhDs (History); Ural Federal University).

Author Biographies

Andrei Zorin

Dr. Hab. (Philology), Professor, University of Oxford.

Oxford, OX1 2JD, UK.

andrei.zorin@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk

Evgeny Yemelyanov

PhD (History), Research Fellow, Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre.

3, Boris Yeltsin Str., 620014, Yekaterinburg, Russia.

sverdlovsk89@mail.ru

Elena Burlina

Dr. Hab. (Philosophy), Professor, Head of the Department of Philosophy and Culturology, Samara State Medical University.

89, Chapayevskaya Str., 443099, Samara, Russia.

bis17@mail.ru

Boris Orlov

PhD (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Ural Federal University.

19, Mira Str., 620002, Yekaterinburg, Russia.

bvo51@rambler.ru

Irina Lisovets

PhD (Philosophy), Associate Professor, Ural Federal University.

19, Mira Str., 620002, Yekaterinburg, Russia.

irlisovec@yandex.ru

Published

2018-06-30

How to Cite

Zorin, A., Yemelyanov, E., Burlina, E., Orlov, B., & Lisovets, I. (2018). The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Centre: the Attraction of Freedom and Power. Quaestio Rossica, 6(2), 565–578. https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2018.2.313

Issue

Section

Dialogus