A Concise History of Russia
£24.99
Part of Cambridge Concise Histories
- Author: Paul Bushkovitch, Yale University, Connecticut
- Date Published: February 2012
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521543231
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Accessible to students, tourists and general readers alike, this book provides a broad overview of Russian history since the ninth century. Paul Bushkovitch emphasizes the enormous changes in the understanding of Russian history resulting from the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, new material has come to light on the history of the Soviet era, providing new conceptions of Russia's pre-revolutionary past. The book traces not only the political history of Russia, but also developments in its literature, art and science. Bushkovitch describes well-known cultural figures, such as Chekhov, Tolstoy and Mendeleev, in their institutional and historical contexts. Though the 1917 revolution, the resulting Soviet system and the Cold War were a crucial part of Russian and world history, Bushkovitch presents earlier developments as more than just a prelude to Bolshevik power.
Read more- New material, especially on the Soviet era
- Integration of culture into the story
- Written for a general audience
Reviews & endorsements
'For any student trying to get a grasp of the essentials of Russian history this book is the place to start. To cover everything from the origins of the Russian people to the collapse of the Soviet Union in one short book requires great skill, but Paul Bushkovitch is one of the leading experts on Russian history in the world and he manages this task with great insight and panache.' Dominic Lieven, University of Cambridge
See more reviews'This is a lively and readable account, covering more than a thousand years of Russian history in an authoritative narrative. The author deals perceptively not only with political developments, but also with those aspects of modern Russian culture and science that have had an international impact.' Maureen Perrie, University of Birmingham
'If you want to understand Russia, and the story of the Russians, you can do no better than Paul Bushkovitch's A Concise History of Russia. Bushkovitch has performed a minor miracle: he's told the remarkably complicated, convoluted, and controversial tale of Russian history simply, directly, and even-handedly. He doesn't get mired in the details, lost in the twists and turns, or sidetracked by axe grinding. He tells you what happened and why, full stop. So if you want to know what happened and why in Russian history, you be advised to begin with Bushkovitch's masterful introduction.' Marshall Poe, University of Iowa
'Both learned and accessible, this short history of Russia's troubled passage to the present tells a story of a state and a people who created an empire that much of the world saw as a threat … Paul Bushkovitch brings us a sober reading of Russia's difficult rises and falls, expansions and contractions, reforms and revolutions. Rather than seeing the preceding millennium as a prelude to the seventy years of the Soviet Union, he gives us a rounded portrait of a country hobbled and humbled by its own geography, institutions like autocracy and serfdom, and grandiose plans to create utopia. Judicious in its judgments, this gracefully written work ranges from high politics to music and literature to open a window through which a reader might begin or renew an acquaintance with the enigmas that were Russia.' Ronald Grigor Suny, University of Michigan
'4.5/5 stars: This thorough, fully-researched volume is a mine of facts and information … an essential volume for the serious student.' The Bookbag
' … at the end of the day the reader will emerge with a good, reliable survey o Russian history.' Contemporary Review
'Bushkovitch avoids the pitfalls of generalization, giving a neat and succinct overview of many different areas that manages to be clear and concise without sacrificing too much detail.' George Gilbert, European History Quarterly
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×Product details
- Date Published: February 2012
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521543231
- length: 518 pages
- dimensions: 216 x 137 x 33 mm
- weight: 0.6kg
- contains: 20 b/w illus. 6 maps
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
1. Russia before Russia
2. Moscow, Novgorod, Lithuania, and the Mongols
3. The emergence of Russia
4. Consolidation and revolt
5. Peter the Great
6. Two empresses
7. Catherine the Great
8. Russia in the age of revolution
9. The pinnacle of autocracy
10. Culture and autocracy
11. The era of great reforms
12. From serfdom to nascent capitalism
13. The golden age of Russian culture
14. Russia as an empire
15. Autocracy in decline
16. War and revolution
17. Compromise and preparation
18. Revolution in Russian culture
19. Building Utopia
20. War
21. Consolidation and stagnation
22. Soviet culture
23. The Cold War
Epilogue: the end of the USSR.Instructors have used or reviewed this title for the following courses
- Contemporary History Russia
- History of Russia
- Imperial Russia
- Red Utopia: Soviet Russia
- Russia to 1917
- Russian and Soviet Art, 1757-Present
- Topics in History - Russia Since 1700
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