:''For the coffee shop company, see Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea.''

The intelligentsia (from Russian интеллигенция, ; from Latin: ''intelligentia'') is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them (e.g., artists and school teachers). Initially the term was applied mostly in the context of Russia and later the Soviet Union, and had a narrower meaning based on a self-definition of a certain category of intellectuals.

History of the notion

The notion of an intellectual elite as a distinguished social stratum can be traced far back in history. Examples are the philosopher-kings and ''guardians'' of Plato's ''Republic'' and monks in medieval Europe, who are now seen as custodians of history and culture.

Use of the term ''"intelligentsia"'' is first reported to have occurred in the Russian Empire in the first half of the 19th century. For example, the word was casually used in the diaries of Vasily Zhukovsky, dated to 1836. In Poland, or more precisely in Greater Poland (which then was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia) the term was popularised in a sense close to the present one by Polish philosopher Karol Libelt, and became widespread in Polish science after the publication of his ''O miłości ojczyzny'' (''On Love of the Motherland'') in 1844, in which he defines "inteligencja" to be those well-educated members of the population who undertake to lead the people as scholars, teachers, clergy, engineers, and ''who guide for the reason of their higher enlightenment''. The term was also popularised by a Russian writer, Pyotr Boborykin, in the 1860s, who proclaimed himself the "godfather" of the notion in 1904. From there it came into English and several other languages. In English this word is often applied to the "intelligentsia" in Central European and Eastern European countries in the 19th and 20th centuries. The distinction was based on the economic and cultural situation of intellectuals in these countries and is different from that in Western Europe or North America.

The emergence of elite classes of intellectuals or well-educated people had been observed in other European countries (e.g., ''"intellectuels"'' in France and ''"Gebildete"'' in Germany) as well.

From signs of intelligentsia by Dr. Vitaly Tepikin:

advanced for its time moral ideals, sensitiveness to fellow creature, tact in manifestations;

active brain work and persistent self-education;

patriotism, which is based on faith in its own people and whole-hearted, inexhaustible love to little and big Motherland;

creative activity as a crucial part of intelligentsia lifestyle (this applies not only to artists, as many can consider, but also to scientists and engineers - ranging from creative approach to their main occupation to recreational culture, various hobbies and self-improvement practices, like sport and hiking);

independence, aspiration to freedom of self-expression and finding of themselves in it.

Poland

After the Partitions of Poland, Polish society remained divided into nobles—the surprisingly numerous class known as Szlachta — and peasants. The political and cultural influence of the cities was small in relation to Western Europe, though this influence was growing. The need for educated specialists created a new class of educated people: hired professionals, such as clerks, physicians, and lawyers. They were recruited mainly from among former nobles, but increasingly from the urbanized classes.

The Polish intelligentsia specifically was considered the backbone of the modern Polish nation. Members of the intelligentsia were well aware of their social status and of their duties, of which working for the country and patriotism were considered the most important. A considerable part of the Polish intelligentsia were killed by the Soviets during World War II (see Katyn massacre).

Today, the notion of the Polish intelligentsia has eroded, since, following widespread higher education, the "intelligentsia" has ceased to be an isolated social class. The values associated with intelligentsia, the values of an educated life, are strong in Polish society, though they are far less associated with a nationalistic movement today than in previous centuries.

Imperial Russia

Russian intelligentsia had a similar mixture of messianism and intellectual elitism. Nicholas II hated the intelligentsia so much he wanted the word removed from the Russian language : "How repulsive I find that word".

In 1860 there were 20,000 Russian professionals 85,000 by 1900.

Russian Marxists' perspective

In the ideology of Bolsheviks, ''intelligentsia'' is not a real class; its status is described by the Russian word ''"prosloyka"'', which is normally translated as "stratum," but in this context has a negative connotation, meaning "liner" or "separating layer". In other words, ''intelligentsia'' does not have a "real" place in the structure of the society: it is a midlayer between "toilers" and "exploiters".

''Intelligentsia'' grows by means of "recruiting" from among the people of labor, but its produce, i.e., the produce of its intellectual labor is just a sort of goods ordered and paid by the exploiter class. Hence its independence is a mere ideological illusion, and in fact ''intelligentsia'' is by large a class of "lackeys" of bourgeoisie and landowners. While ''de facto'' being an exploited category, ''en masse'' it lacks the revolutionary drive. Ironically, this theory was put forth by the representatives of ''intelligentsia'' itself, notably Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky among many others. In particular, Lenin is famous for his caustic remark that "[the] intelligentsia is not the 'brain of the nation', it is the 'feces of the nation'".

Ironically, the fervent drive for professional education gave birth to new Soviet intelligentsia, which gave the current meaning to the term. This new class wasn't clearly defined; instead, the labor of skilled professionals, scientists and artists was likened to proletarian labor in the different field. These professionals were officially unified under institutions similar to workmen unions (for examples, the Writer's Union) and given strict standards for evaluating their work, enforced by the corresponding expert boards.

The approach to intelligentsia was varying: for example, scientists were kept in check by ideological sections of their universities, and, if doing sensitive research, were restricted both territorially and socially to so called "closed institutes" with top secret clearance or even "closed cities" that gathered such scientists in remote research and development campuses. Artists, on the other hand, weren't contained physically, but any release, publication or performance needed to go through Union evaluation; their "means of production" (from printing presses to film labs) were strictly regulated and centralized. Therefore, Soviet Union was able to let the natural creative process crucial for nation's survival continue, but at the same time didn't allow for any official and ideological authority for the intellectual class on its own, as a social class.

Soviet Union

The Russian Revolution polarized the Russian intelligentsia, together with all other strata of the society. Some of them emigrated, some joined the White movement, some joined Bolsheviks (and some were Bolsheviks from the very beginning), some tried to oppose Bolsheviks within the political framework of Soviet Union, some remained passive. Eventually Bolsheviks got rid of all opponents by various means ranging from forced deportation to execution. The remaining intelligentsia was supposed to serve "the cause of working class". While the importance of this class was not underestimated, it was treated with reservation.

In the late Soviet Union the term "intelligentsia" acquired a formal definition of mental and cultural workers. More specifically, there were categories of "scientific-technical intelligentsia" (научно-техническая интеллигенция) and "creative intelligentsia" (творческая интеллигенция). Teachers and lawyers were considered "intelligentsia" as well, but the corresponding adjectives to the word "intelligentsia" were used rarely.

In the post-Soviet period, the members of the former Soviet intelligentsia have displayed diverging attitudes towards the communist regime. While the older generation of intelligentsia has attempted to frame themselves as victims, the younger generation, who was in their 30s when the Soviet Union collapsed, has not allocated so much space for the repressive experience in their self-narratives. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the popularity and influence of the intelligentsia has significantly declined, therefore it is typical for the post-Soviet intelligentsia to feel nostalgic for the last years of the Soviet Union (perestroika), which they often regard as the golden age of the intelligentsia.

Broader usage

Some authors use the term "intelligentsia" in reference to intellectuals and certain upper middle class professionals, whose main task is to create and distribute knowledge.

The usage of the term is typically reserved for reference to public figures in the arts, culture, and social sciences. It is rarely, if ever, applied towards disciplines such as natural science, applied science, medicine, mathematics, and engineering.

Max Weber considered intelligentsia to be a major category essentially distinct from other social categories, both in terms of attributes and interests. In his major work, ''Economy and Society'' he used this term in arbitrary chronological and geographical frames, e.g., he wrote that "this Christian preoccupation with the formulation of dogmas was in Antiquity particularly influenced by the distinctive character of 'intelligentsia', which was the product of Greek education" When formulating major social classes of his time, Weber combines intelligentsia with other social categories, e.g., he defines a major class consisting of "the propertyless intelligentsia and specialists (technicians, various kinds of white-collar employees, civil servants – possible with considerable social differences depending on the cost of their training)" and yet other "classes privileged through property and education".

See also

Academia

Philippine ilustrado

References

Boborykin, P.D. ''Russian Intelligentsia'' In: ''Russian Thought'', 1904, # 12 (In Russian; Боборыкин П.Д. Русская интеллигенция// Русская мысль. 1904. №12;)

Zhukovsky V. A. ''From the Diaries of Years 1827-1840'', In: ''Our Heritage,'' Moscow, #32, 1994. (In Russian; Жуковский В.А. Из дневников 1827–1840 гг. // Наше наследие. М., 1994. №32.)

* The record dated by February 2, 1836 says: "Через три часа после этого общего бедствия ... осветился великолепный Энгельгардтов дом, и к нему потянулись кареты, все наполненные лучшим петербургским дворянством, тем, которые у нас представляют всю русскую европейскую интеллигенцию" ("After three hours after this common disaster... the magnificent Engelhardt's house was lit up and coaches started coming, filled with the best Peterburg ''dvoryanstvo,'' the ones who represent here the best Russian European ''intelligentsia.''") The casual, i.e., no-philosophical and non-literary context, suggests that the word was in common circulation.

Category:Social groups Category:Russian loanwords

ar:انتلجنسيا az:Ziyalı be:Інтэлігенцыя bg:Интелигенция cs:Inteligence (třída) da:Intelligentsia de:Intelligenzija es:Intelligentsia fr:Intelligentsia gl:Intelligentsia ko:인텔리겐치아 it:Intellighenzia kk:Интеллигенция nl:Intelligentsia ja:インテリ no:Intelligentsia pl:Inteligencja (społeczeństwo) pt:Intelligentsia ru:Интеллигенция sk:Inteligencia (trieda) sl:Inteligenca (socialni sloj) sv:Intelligentia tr:İntelligentsiya uk:Інтелігенція

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Cuban Boys
background	group_or_band
origin	Torquay, United Kingdom
genre	Synthpop
years active	1998–present
label	Org Records, EMI, House Of Beauty
website	http://www.thecubanboys.co.uk/
current members	Ricardo AutobahnSkreen B
past members	Jenny McLarenBL Underwood
notable instruments	}}

The Cuban Boys are a British band and production team currently comprising Skreen B and Ricardo Autobahn. Prior to this they had been a four piece band with additional members BL Underwood and Jenny McLaren (Autobahn's sister). They achieved success after being aired on John Peel's Radio 1 show with sample-heavy dance tracks and cut-ups and were responsible for the hit single "Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia" which was released through EMI.

Band formation

The Cuban Boys formed in 1998 using the Internet as a publicity and collaboration tool from the outset. After a web only release of an anonymous dance track, ''Diophantus Arithmetica'', with hints that it was by Noel Gallagher, they recorded ''Oh My God! They Killed Kenny'' (later retitled ''Kenny''), which featured sampled dialogue from ''South Park'' combined with ''The Bump'' by Kenny. This was played extensively by John Peel and took the 6th position in the 1998 Festive Fifty. Following this it was released as the band's first single. A six-track EP, ''Blueprint For Modernisation'', followed. A track from this EP, "Cuban Boy (Cuban Boys Go Boom! Mix)", went on to be used as the theme music for the BBC sitcom ''Still Game''.

"Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia"

The Cuban Boys next single, "Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia" was built on a sample used from "Whistle Stop" by Roger Miller which was featured in the Disney movie ''Robin Hood''. It was first featured on the Internet as part of The Hampster Dance song on the website of the same name. The same sample was later used as the basis for the song "Irritating Hamster" by the artist DJ Mavica, then as part of the Cuban Boys' hit (a close but noticeably different imitation of the original sample was used in the final release, as the licensing fees could not be met)

"Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia" became a #4 hit in the UK in December 1999,

''Eastwood''

In 2000, the Cuban boys released their first album, ''Eastwood'', through EMI but, despite the popularity of "Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia", ''Eastwood'' suffered poor sales. It was not released in time to capitalise on the success of "Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia" and was given limited marketing. Some of the older tunes featuring unauthorised samples had them replaced by obvious imitations.

Following the commercial failure of ''Eastwood'', the band were dropped by the label and left with some bitterness, later expressed through their releasing a 7" cover version of the Sex Pistols' "EMI".

Later work

Commercially, little was heard of the band itself after ''Eastwood'', although they released several limited release singles and EPs. The band focused mainly on internet downloads, and made much of their early discography available free of charge from their various websites and on MySpace. All the members became involved in other projects and although the Cuban Boys never formally split up, the band ceased to be active around 2001. Its members continued to work together under various names, most notably Spray.

Following the death of John Peel in 2004, The Cuban Boys (now consisting only of Skreen B and Ricardo Autobahn) reformed to release a tribute song, "The Nation Needs You", as a free download. Following this, they returned to producing individual tracks, releasing some of them as download-only or limited release CD singles. In 2008, they released their first full album since ''Eastwood'', ''The Satellite Junkyard''. on their own record label, House Of Beauty.

In 2010, the Cuban Boys released a "greatest hits" compilation of their singles. ''Art vs Commerce'' amounted to twenty one tracks, and was released once again on House of Beauty Records. The cover for the CD consists of a booklet with new artwork and a detailed history of the band.

Related acts

Members of the Cuban Boys have also worked on music under various names:

The Beatbox Saboteurs (Skreen B and BL Underwood)

Wave Runner

Space Kats

Spray (McLaren and Autobahn)

Dynamo Beat (Skreen B and BL Underwood)

PigynClust (Skreen B and BL Underwood)

Blu Thunder (BL Underwood)

Ricardo Autobahn (solo)

Rikki & Daz (Ricardo Autobahn and Daz Sampson)

The Barndance Boys (Ricardo Autobahn and Daz Sampson)

Discography

Singles and EPs

"Oh My God! They Killed Kenny!", Rough Trade Shop (1998) (7" single, limited edition of 1000)

''Blueprint for Modernisation EP'', Org Records (1998) (6 track CD, limited edition of 1000)

"Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia", EMI (1999) - UK #4

"Inertia Kicks", Stone The Kubist Records / self published (2000)

''Old Skool for Scoundrels EP'', Prim & Proper / self published (2000) (7" EP on yellow vinyl, limited edition of 1000)

"EMI", Damaged Goods (2000) (7" single)

"Drink" (originally Drink Drink Drink), Sanctuary Records (2001) (unreleased promotional CD)

"The Nation Needs You", self published (2005) (promotional CD and free download)

"Spooky!", self published (2007)

"The Penthouse Messiahs", self published (2008)

"Summer Song", self published (2009)

"All Girls Have A Volvo", self published (2009) "I'm Backing Britain", self published (2009) (promotional CD) "Datacrime 2011", self published (2011) (downloadable single)

Albums

''Eastwood'', EMI (2000)

''The Satellite Junkyard'', House of Beauty / self published (2008)

''Art vs Commerce - The Singles Collection'', House of Beauty / self published (2010)

Additionally the Cuban Boys have featured on alternative compilation albums such as Damaged Goods "Totally Damaged" sampler (unique track) and have done remix work featuring on other bands' singles and EPs, e.g. Helen Love.

See also

Ricardo Autobahn

Rikki & Daz

Barndance Boys

References

External links

Cuban Boys website

Category:English electronic music groups