Fuxes, commilitones, philisters... Essays about student corporations in Latvia.

The work of the ethnologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, and leading researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Svetlana Ryzhakova, is dedicated to the history, social context, and cultural life of academic lifelong associations - student corporations in Latvia. Based on a wide range of sources (historical, artistic, personal observations, conversations, and interviews), the origins of their formation in the Baltic region, historical and ethno-cultural contexts of existence, and social functions are shown. The book describes the internal structure of the everyday life of corporations, rules, customs, and rituals. Special attention is paid to Russian student corporations in Latvia and the biographies of some of the members - architect Vladimir Shervinsky, chess player Vladimir Petrov and his wife Galina Petrova-Matisse, archaeologist Tatiana Pavlova, doctor Ivan Roshonok, and others. The book features unique illustrations from personal archives and albums of the corporations for the first time.