"Our Native Antiquity": Archaeology and Aesthetics in the Culture of Russian Modernism

“‘Our Native Antiquity’ makes a valuable contribution to the emergent field of interdisciplinary scholarship scrutinizing the object world, in particular the role of artifacts in literary texts (as in the work of Bill Brown), in the Slavic field and beyond. Even such media spectacles as Vladimir Putin’s 2011 scuba dive to ‘recover’ ancient amphorae take on new meaning in light of Kunichika’s book, which makes clear that establishing Russia’s links with antiquity has long had implications for the nation's sense of self-worth. The past is a renewable resource.” —Julia Bekman Chadaga, Slavic Review