ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the interaction between Russians, their national identity, and the state in the last century by using a particularly Russian form of architecture, the country estate to illuminate this complex topic, while incorporating more general aspects of Russian history and culture into the analysis. The disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 shook the world and changed Russia unequivocally. Economics and politics stabilized in Russia, albeit unevenly, through the late 1990s. On June 12, 1990, Russia, too, was named a sovereign state within the USSR; a year later, the first open elections were held, and Boris Yeltsin was elected president of Russia. Russians generally attach great importance to the cultural achievements of their nation, including the Soviet and prerevolutionary periods. Religion is of great importance in the Russian nation; it underwent a great resurgence even before Gorbachev's reforms, and this has gained great momentum throughout the post-Soviet period.
