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The gypsies of Russia and the part they have played in both Soviet and Post-Soviet society.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Notes on Orthography and Transcripts

Introduction
1. Pushkin, The Gypsies, and Russian Imperialist Nostalgia

2. Roma, Race, and Post-Soviet Markets

3. “What is Your Nation?” Performing Romani Distinctions
4. The Gypsy Stage, Socialism, and Authenticity

5. The Hidden Nail: Memory, Loyalty, and Models of Revelation

6. “Roma” and “Gazhje”: Shifting Terms

7. Conclusion: At Home in Russia
Appendix A. Roma and Other Tsygane in the Commonwealth of Independent States

Appendix B. Dialect Differences

Appendix C. Vlax-Lovari Romani Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Alaina Lemon is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Reviews

"This is an extraordinarily insightful account of the performance of being 'Gypsy' in Russia. Theoretically sophisticated, it illuminates Russian as well as Romani culture, and delves into issues of naming, mobility, transgression and authenticity. This book is a must for anyone interested in advances in anthropology as well as contemporary Russian culture."--Caroline Humphrey, co-author of The End of Nomadism?: Society, State, and the Environment in Inner Asia "[Lemon] is imaginative and insightful in her analysis of Pushkin, whose fleeting, romanticized observations on Gypsies have stifled alternative understandings of the Roma in Russia... [a] valuable contribution to the field."--TLS, June 8 2001