Russia and the Soviet Union : An Historical Introduction From the Kievan State to the Present

This lucid account of Russian and Soviet history presents major trends and events from ancient Kievan Rus’ to Vladimir Putin’s presidency of the twenty-first century. Now thoroughly revised and updated, Russia and the Soviet Union does not shy away from controversial topics, including the impact of the Mongol conquest, the paradoxes of Peter the Great, the “inevitability” of the 1917 Revolution, the Stalinist terror, and the Gorbachev reform effort. The sixth edition includes a new chapter on Vladimir Putin, additional treatment of social and foreign policy issues, and an updated chapter on post-Soviet Russia and the Yeltsin era. Distinguished by its brevity and amply supplemented with useful maps, illustrations, photos, and suggested readings, this essential text provides balanced coverage of all periods of Russian history and incorporates economic, social, and cultural developments as well as politics and foreign policy.Contents 1. Ancient Russia and the Kievan State2. Russia Divided and Conquered, 1054–14623. Moscow and “the Gathering of the Russian Lands,” 1328–15334. Ivan the Terrible and the Time of Troubles, 1533–16185. The Molding of Russian Society, 1613–16896. Peter the Great and Westernization, 1689–17257. Change and Continuity, 1725–18018. Power, Backwardness, and Creativity, 1801–18559. Reform, Reaction, and Modernization, 1855–190410. Revolution, Reform, and War, 1904–191711. Revolution, Civil War, and the Founding of Soviet Society, 1917–192812. The Second Revolution, the Stalinist System, and World War II, 1928–194613. The Soviet Union as a Superpower: Change, Stagnation, and “Cold War,” 1946–198414. The Gorbachev “Revolution” and the Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1983–199115. The “New” Russia in the Post-Soviet Era 1991–200016. Putin’s Paradoxes Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 12 Preface to the First Edition......Page 14 The Russian Land......Page 18 The Peoples of Russia......Page 23 The Slavs Come to Russia......Page 26 The Formation of the Kievan State......Page 28 How Did Kievan Russians Make a Living?......Page 30 Kievan Society......Page 33 Religion and Culture in Kievan Russia......Page 35 Power and Politics in Kievan Russia......Page 39 The Fall and Significance of Kievan Russia......Page 41 Further Reading......Page 43 CHAPTER 2: RUSSIA DIVIDED AND CONQUERED, 1054–1462......Page 46 Russia Divided......Page 47 The Mongol Scourge......Page 51 The Impact of the Mongols......Page 55 The Decline of Mongol Power......Page 60 Conclusion......Page 61 Further Reading......Page 62 CHAPTER 3: MOSCOW AND THE "GATHERING OF THE RUSSIAN LANDS," 1328–1533......Page 64 The Odds Against Moscow......Page 65 Moscow's Advantages......Page 66 The Unification of Russia, 1328–1533......Page 73 Conclusion......Page 81 Further Reading......Page 82 CHAPTER 4: IVAN THE TERRIBLE AND THE TIME OF TROUBLES, 1533–1618......Page 84 The Personality and Character of Ivan the Terrible......Page 85 The Reforms of Ivan IV......Page 87 Ivan Versus the Aristocracy......Page 89 The Time of Troubles, 1598–1613......Page 94 Conclusion......Page 100 Further Reading......Page 101 CHAPTER 5: THE MOLDING OF RUSSIAN SOCIETY, 1613–1689......Page 104 Serfdom......Page 106 The Autocracy......Page 110 The Orthodox Church......Page 113 The Expansion of Russia......Page 116 Relations with the West......Page 120 Conclusion......Page 121 Further Reading......Page 122 CHAPTER 6: PETER THE GREAT AND WESTERNIZATION, 1689–1725......Page 124 Peter's Coming of Age......Page 126 Peter's Personality and Character......Page 127 Peter in War and Diplomacy......Page 129 Peter's Reforms......Page 132 Resistance to Peter......Page 137 Significance of Peter the Great......Page 138 Further Reading......Page 140 CHAPTER 7: CHANGE AND CONTINUITY, 1725–1801......Page 142 Peter's Successors, 1725–1762......Page 145 Catherine the Great, 1762–1796......Page 147 Russian Expansion and Colonization......Page 152 Economic and Social Development......Page 155 The Changing Role of the Nobility......Page 157 Education and Culture......Page 159 The Reign of Paul I, 1796–1801......Page 161 Conclusion......Page 163 Further Reading......Page 164 CHAPTER 8: POWER, BACKWARDNESS, AND CREATIVITY, 1801–1855......Page 166 The Serf Economy......Page 168 Russia Unchanged......Page 171 Creativity and Dissent......Page 176 Russia: Arbiter of Europe, Colonizer of Asia and America......Page 179 Conclusion......Page 183 Further Reading......Page 184 CHAPTER 9: REFORM, REACTION, AND MODERNIZATION, 1855–1904......Page 186 The Era of the Great Reforms, 1855–1881......Page 188 Terror and Reaction......Page 192 Economic and Social Modernization, 1861–1905......Page 196 Competing Ideologies......Page 201 Conclusion......Page 207 Further Reading......Page 208 CHAPTER 10: REVOLUTION, REFORM, AND WAR, 1904–1917......Page 210 The Revolution of 1905......Page 212 The Duma Period, 1906–1914......Page 217 The Silver Age: Russian Culture, 1890–1917......Page 222 Russian Involvement in World War I, 1914–1917......Page 225 Conclusion......Page 227 Further Reading......Page 230 CHAPTER 11: REVOLUTION, CIVIL WAR, AND THE FOUNDING OF SOVIET SOCIETY, 1917–1928......Page 232 The February Revolution: The Collapse of the Tsarist System......Page 233 The Bolsheviks Come to Power......Page 239 Civil War and Foreign Intervention, 1918–1921......Page 244 The New Economic Policy and Coexistence, 1921–1928......Page 250 The Struggle for Power......Page 253 Conclusion......Page 256 Further Reading......Page 257 CHAPTER 12: THE SECOND REVOLUTION, THE STALINIST SYSTEM, AND WORLD WAR II, 1928–1946......Page 260 The Revolution from Above: Industrialization and Collectivization......Page 261 The Stalinist System......Page 269 Soviet Culture, 1917–1953......Page 274 Stalin and the World, 1928–1946......Page 275 Conclusion......Page 283 Further Reading......Page 284 CHAPTER 13: THE SOVIET UNION AS A SUPERPOWER: CHANGE, STAGNATION, AND "COLD WAR," 1946–1984......Page 286 Reconstruction and Renewed Stalinism......Page 287 The Cold War......Page 288 Ideological Rigidity and Repression......Page 295 The Succession to Stalin and the Rise of Khrushchev......Page 296 Peaceful Coexistence and Troubles in Eastern Europe......Page 301 Origins of the Sino-Soviet Split......Page 304 Ups and Downs in Soviet-Western Relations......Page 306 Khrushchev: Reformer or Repairman?......Page 308 Bureaucratic Stability Under Brezhnev and His Successors......Page 311 Détente and Its Erosion......Page 314 The Changing Soviet Society......Page 319 Conclusion......Page 322 Further Reading......Page 323 CHAPTER 14: THE GORBACHEV "REVOLUTION" AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION, 1983–1991......Page 324 The Origins of the Gorbachev Reforms......Page 325 Efforts to Rejuvenate the Economy......Page 329 New "Thinking" in Foreign Policy......Page 332 Glasnost'......Page 336 Democratization......Page 339 Gorbachev's Downfall......Page 341 The Attempted Coup of August 1991......Page 345 Conclusion......Page 347 Further Reading......Page 349 CHAPTER 15: THE "NEW" RUSSIA IN THE POST-SOVIET ERA, 1991–2000......Page 352 The Quadruple Revolution......Page 353 On the High Road to Capitalism......Page 355 What Is a "Normal" Life?......Page 358 The Rocky Road to Democracy......Page 364 Russia, Its Neighbors, and the World......Page 372 Conclusion......Page 378 Further Reading......Page 379 CHAPTER 16: PUTIN'S PARADOXES, 2000Ó2008......Page 380 The Meteoric Rise of Vladimir Putin......Page 381 Good Times......Page 384 Now, the Bad News......Page 385 Consumerism......Page 389 Nationalism......Page 390 "Sovereign Democracy"......Page 391 Elections......Page 393 The Challenge of Chechnya......Page 396 Putin's Assertive Foreign Policy......Page 398 Russia and Its Neighbors......Page 400 Russia and the European Union......Page 403 Conclusion......Page 405 Further Reading......Page 406 Notes......Page 408 A......Page 412 B......Page 413 C......Page 414 D......Page 415 F......Page 416 G......Page 417 I......Page 418 K......Page 419 L......Page 420 M......Page 421 N......Page 422 P......Page 423 R......Page 425 S......Page 427 T......Page 429 U......Page 430 V......Page 431 Z......Page 432

This lucid account of Russian and Soviet history presents major trends and events from ancient Kievan Rus’ to Vladimir Putin’s presidency of the twenty-first century. Now thoroughly revised and updated, Russia and the Soviet Union does not shy away from controversial topics, including the impact of the Mongol conquest, the paradoxes of Peter the Great, the 'inevitability' of the 1917 Revolution, the Stalinist terror, and the Gorbachev reform effort. The sixth edition includes a new chapter on Vladimir Putin, additional treatment of social and foreign policy issues, and an updated chapter on post-Soviet Russia and the Yeltsin era. Distinguished by its brevity and amply supplemented with useful maps, illustrations, photos, and suggested readings, this essential text provides balanced coverage of all periods of Russian history and incorporates economic, social, and cultural developments as well as politics and foreign policy.

Contents

1. Ancient Russia and the Kievan State
2. Russia Divided and Conquered, 1054–1462
3. Moscow and 'the Gathering of the Russian Lands,' 1328–1533
4. Ivan the Terrible and the Time of Troubles, 1533–1618
5. The Molding of Russian Society, 1613–1689
6. Peter the Great and Westernization, 1689–1725
7. Change and Continuity, 1725–1801
8. Power, Backwardness, and Creativity, 1801–1855
9. Reform, Reaction, and Modernization, 1855–1904
10. Revolution, Reform, and War, 1904–1917
11. Revolution, Civil War, and the Founding of Soviet Society, 1917–1928
12. The Second Revolution, the Stalinist System, and World War II, 1928–1946
13. The Soviet Union as a Superpower: Change, Stagnation, and 'Cold War,' 1946–1984
14. The Gorbachev 'Revolution' and the Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1983–1991
15. The 'New' Russia in the Post-Soviet Era 1991–2000
16. Putin’s Paradoxes

"This account of Russian and Soviet history presents major trends and events from ancient Kievan Rus' to Vladimir Putin's presidency of the twenty-first century. Now thoroughly revised and updated, Russia and the Soviet Union addresses controversial topics, including the impact of the Mongol conquest, the paradoxes of Peter the Great, the "inevitability" of the 1917 Revolution, the Stalinist terror, and the Gorbachev reform effort. The sixth edition includes a new chapter on Vladimir Putin, additional treatment of social and foreign policy issues, and an updated chapter on post-Soviet Russia and the Yeltsin era. Distinguished by its brevity and amply supplemented with useful maps, illustrations, photos, and suggested readings, this text provides balanced coverage of all periods of Russian history and incorporates economic, social, and cultural developments as well as politics and foreign policy."--BOOK JACKET This balanced and succinct presentation covers the entire expanse of Russian history from the first Kievan states (800 a.d.) to the present day Putin era.