Since tsarist times, Roma in Russia have been portrayed as both rebellious outlaws and free-spirited songbirds--in each case, as if isolated from society. In Soviet times, Russians continued to harbor these two, only seemingly opposed, views of -Gypsies, - exalting their songs on stage but scorning them on the streets as liars and cheats. Alaina Lemon's Between Two Fires examines how Roma themselves have negotiated these dual images in everyday interactions and in stage performances.
Lemon's ethnographic study is based on extensive fieldwork in 1990s Russia and focuses on Moscow...

Since tsarist times, Roma in Russia have been portrayed as both rebellious outlaws and free-spirited songbirds--in each case, as if isolated from society. In Soviet times, Russians continued to harbor these two, only seemingly opposed, views of -Gypsies, - exalting their songs on stage but scorning them on the streets as liars and cheats. Alaina Lemon's Between Two Fires examines how Roma themselves have negotiated these dual images in everyday interactions and in stage performances.
Lemon's ethnographic study is based on extensive fieldwork in 1990s Russia and focuses on Moscow...