Russia and the Russians : a history / Geoffrey Hosking.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hosking, Geoffrey A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Russia--History.

Russia.

History.

Soviet Union--History.

Soviet Union.

Russia (Federation)--History--1991-.

Russia (Federation).

National characteristics, Russian.

Physical Description:

xiii, 728 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011.

Summary:

Hosking (retired, Russian history, U. College London) necessarily draws with broad strokes as he profiles one of the largest, strongest, and oldest cultures on the planet. He warns Western policy makers, academics, and the general public not to ignore Russia and urges them to understand what makes Russians like and unlike Westerners. His narrative progresses from the pre-imperial Rus and the beginnings of empire, through the troubled building of empire, Russia as a European empire, imperial crisis, revolution and utopia, and the decline and fall of utopia. The 2001 first edition was published by Harvard University Press of which Belknap is an imprint. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

Introduction: Geopolitics, ecology, and national character

pt. 1. Pre-imperial Rus and the beginnings of empire

Kievan Rus, the Mongols, and the rise of Muscovy

Ivan IV and the expansion of Muscovy

pt. 2. The troubled building of empire

The turbulent seventeenth century

Peter the Great and Europeanization

pt. 3. Russia as European empire

State and society in the eighteenth century

The reigns of Paul, Alexander I, and Nicholas I

pt. 4. Imperial crisis

Alexander II's uncertain reforms

The rise of nationalism

pt. 5. Revolution and utopia

Social change and revolution

War and revolution

Social transformation and terror

Soviet society takes shape

pt. 6. The decline and fall of utopia

Recovery and Cold War

Soviet society under "developed socialism"

From Perestroika to Russian Federation

Chronology.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674061958

0674061950

OCLC:

711777259