This course examines the history of the Russian Empire from its origins to the fall of the monarchy in 1917. Understanding Imperial Russia is particularly important today, as Russia and the other former Soviet republics are searching for new political and social forms in the wake of communism’s collapse and are looking to the pre-revolutionary past as a source of political inspiration and national identity. The Russian tradition, from Peter I to Nicholas II, has become a hotly debated field of current political discourse both in Russia and in the West. A central question is whether the Russian tradition was a historical dead end, or a promise cut short by revolutionary violence? In considering this question, topics involving politics, social history, culture, gender, religion, and ethnicity will be discussed. Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hoursPrerequisite(s): 3 credit units HIST at the 100 level; or 30 credit units of University courses.
This course examines the history of the Russian Empire from its origins to the fall of the monarchy in 1917. Understanding Imperial Russia is particularly important today, as Russia and the other former Soviet republics are searching for new political and social forms in the wake of communism’s collapse and are looking to the pre-revolutionary past as a source of political inspiration and national identity. The Russian tradition, from Peter I to Nicholas II, has become a hotly debated field of current political discourse both in Russia and in the West. A central question is whether the Russian tradition was a historical dead end, or a promise cut short by revolutionary violence? In considering this question, topics involving politics, social history, culture, gender, religion, and ethnicity will be discussed. Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hoursPrerequisite(s): 3 credit units HIST at the 100 level; or 30 credit units of University courses.
