Introduction
To what extent is “Russian mysticism” the product of diplomacy and political conflict? A history of nonsymmetrical comparisons has led us astray from seeing connections. Some of these connections are evident in the practice of Russian theatrical training and its uptake in the United States, for instance, or in the popularity of a Russian version of a Western European reality show that pits psychics against each other. This introduction justifies comparative and connective analysis of the historical grounds and categories for communicative contact and its failures. It also establishes the importance of paying attention to the social structuring of attention in performances and in interactions, including interactions that are mass mediated as examples of unmediated or psychic contact.