Mihhail Lotman (born September 2, 1952 in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
) is an
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n literature researcher and politician, son of
Juri Lotman
Juri Lotman (russian: Ю́рий Миха́йлович Ло́тман; 28 February 1922 – 28 October 1993) was a prominent Russian-Estonian literary scholar, semiotician, and historian of Russian culture, who worked at the University of Tart ...
and
Zara Mints
Zara Grigoryevna Mints (russian: Зара Григорьевна Минц; July 24, 1927 – October 25, 1990) was a Slavic literary scientist active in the University of Tartu. She was the wife of Juri Lotman.
Mints was born in Pskov, but th ...
.
Mihhail Lotman's research fields include general
semiotics
Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...
and semiotics of culture as well as text theory and history of
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...
. Lotman was a member of the board of Russian Cultural Society in Estonia from 1988 to 1994. Lotman is a professor of semiotics and literary theory at the
Tallinn University
Tallinn University (TLU; et, Tallinna Ülikool, ''TLÜ'') is a public research university in Estonia. Located in the centre of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn University is one of the three largest institutions of higher education ...
and also a member of a research group on semiotics at the
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
.
Lotman was awarded the Medal of the
Order of the White Star
The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...
on February 2, 2001. In recent years, Lotman has been active in politics, serving as Member of
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...
for the conservative
Res Publica Party
Res Publica Party ( et, Erakond Res Publica) was a political party in Estonia that self-identified as conservative. Established as a party on 8 December 2001, the political organisation Res Publica was founded already as early as 1989 and exist ...
.
In 2010, Lotman defended
Sofi Oksanen
Sofi-Elina Oksanen (born 7 January 1977) is a Finnish writer and playwright. Oksanen has published six novels, of which "Purge" has gained the widest recognition. She has received several international and domestic awards for her literary work ...
's novel ''
Puhdistus'' against its opponents in Estonia.
References
External links
Mihhail Lotman's homepageEstonian Research Portal entry
Estonian scholars
Linguists from Estonia
Estonian people of Russian descent
Estonian Jews
Russian Jews
1952 births
Living people
Recipients of the Order of the White Star, Medal Class
Academic staff of the University of Tartu
University of Tartu alumni
Estonian semioticians
Members of the Riigikogu, 2003–2007
Members of the Riigikogu, 2019–2023
Academic staff of Tallinn University
Russians in Estonia
Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 2nd Class
{{semiotician-stub