Companion To Russian History, A

Description:
This companion comprises 28 essays by international scholars offering an analytical overview of the development of Russian history from the earliest Slavs through to the present day. * Includes essays by both prominent and emerging scholars from Russia, Great Britain, the US, and Canada * Analyzes the entire sweep of Russian history from debates over how to identify the earliest Slavs, through the Yeltsin Era, and future prospects for post-Soviet Russia * Offers an extensive review of the medieval period, religion, culture, and the experiences of ordinary people * Offers a balanced review of both traditional and cutting-edge topics, demonstrating the range and dynamism of the field

Review:
'Read from cover to cover, A Companion to Russian History will be of enormous value to those who teach survey courses in Russian history, to graduate students preparing for comprehensive exams in Russian history, or simply anyone who wants to get current with trends in the field.' (The Russian Review, 2010) “…Recommended as an up-to-date and well written guide to many important issues in Russian history, likely to be useful to everyone from senior school pupils to scholars seeking guidance in unfamiliar fields.' (Reviews in History, April 2010)

Table of Contents:
Notes on Contributors. 1 Russian Historiography after the Fall (Abbott Gleason). PART I RUS': THE EARLY EAST SLAVIC WORLD. 2 From 'Proto-Slavs' to Proto-State (P. M. Barford). 3 The First East Slavic State (Janet Martin). 4 Rus' and the Byzantine Empire (George Majeska). 5 The Mongols and Rus': Eight Paradigms (Donald Ostrowski). PART II TO MUSCOVY AND BEYOND. 6 Muscovite Political Culture (Nancy Shields Kollmann). 7 Slavery and Serfdom in Russia (Richard Hellie). 8 Russian Art from the Middle Ages to Modernism (Ilia A. Dorontchenkov (translated by Abbott Gleason)). 9 The Church Schism and Old Belief (Nadieszda Kizenko). PART III THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 10 Petrine Russia (Lindsey Hughes). 11 The Westernization of the Elite, 1725-1800 (Gary Marker). 12 The 'Great Reforms' of the 1860s (Daniel Field). 13 Industrialization and Capitalism (Thomas C. Owen). 14 The Question of Civil Society in Late Imperial Russia (Christopher Ely). 15 Russia: Minorities and Empire (Robert Geraci). 16 The Intelligentsia and its Critics (Gary Saul Morson). 17 Russian Modernism (Andrew Wachtel). 18 Russia's Popular Culture in History and Theory (Louise McReynolds). 19 The Russian Experience of the First World War (Melissa Stockdale). PART IV THE SOVIET UNION. 20 From the First World War to Civil War, 1914-1923 (Mark von Hagen). 21 The Woman Question in Russia: Contradictions and Ambivalence (Elizabeth A. Wood). 22 Stalinism and the 1930s (Lynne Viola). 23 The Soviet Union in the Second World War (Nikita Lomagin (translated by Melissa Stockdale and Abbott Gleason)). 24 The Cold War (David C. Engerman). 25 Old Thinking and New: Khrushchev and Gorbachev (Robert English). 26 The End of the Soviet Union (Robert V. Daniels). PART V WHITHER RUSSIA? 27 Russia's Post-Soviet Upheaval (Bruce Parrott). 28 Russian History and the Future of Russia (William E. Odom). Index.

Author Biography:
Abbott Gleason is Keeney Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University, where he has served as Chairman of the History Department and Director of the Watson Institute. In 1995 he served as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. In 1980-82 he was Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC and was subsequently chosen Chairman of its Board of Advisers.