The Modernisation of Russia, 1676–1825 (New Approaches to European History, Series Number 15)

This is an analytical account of a colorful period in Russian history, which is accessible to undergraduates of European and Russian history, as well as to the nonspecialist reader. Central to a discussion that emphasizes Russia's place in Europe are the much misunderstood personalities of some remarkable rulers, such as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Alexander I. Their reigns are set in the context of wider developments in social, economic, cultural and intellectual history that help to account for Russia's emergence as a great power. Contents......Page 7 Maps......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 Chronology......Page 13 Abbreviations......Page 17 Modernisation theory......Page 18 Russian history, 1676-1825......Page 24 Ambitions and achievements......Page 44 Military and naval reform......Page 51 The primacy of foreign policy......Page 59 The consequences of imperial expansion......Page 67 Muscovite taxation......Page 74 War and financial modernisation, 1700-1762......Page 78 War and financial modernisation, 1762-1825......Page 84 The burden of taxation......Page 91 The political and social impact of taxation......Page 93 Social policy......Page 97 Social identities: the peasantry......Page 101 Social identities: the nobility......Page 110 Social mobility......Page 113 Social conflict......Page 122 The court......Page 135 Central and local government......Page 143 Patrons, clients, and bureaucrats......Page 149 The church in government......Page 156 Justice......Page 158 Education and literacy......Page 169 Hierarchies of culture......Page 174 Cosmopolitanism and national consciousness......Page 177 Centre and periphery......Page 187 Science and superstition......Page 192 Religion and secularisation......Page 197 Private and public, amateur and professional......Page 199 Tsar and state......Page 206 State and nation......Page 215 Church and state......Page 226 8 The economy......Page 238 Economic ideas and economic policy......Page 239 Population and natural resources......Page 247 Transport and technology......Page 256 Trade and commerce......Page 260 Agriculture and industry, town and country......Page 265 Economic growth......Page 266 Conclusion......Page 273 Index......Page 275 This important new addition to the New Approaches to European History series is the first book to place Russia's 'long' eighteenth century squarely in its European context. The conceptual framework is set out in an opening critique of modernisation theory which, while rejecting its linear implications, maintains its focus on the relationship between government, economy, and society. Following a chronological introduction, a series of thematic chapters emphasise the ways in which Russia's international ambitions as an emerging great power provoked administrative and fiscal reforms with wide-ranging (and often unanticipated) social consequences. Russia's kinship-dominated peasant communities were not the casual detritus of government-inspired reform, but rather its direct consequence: the more the tsars tried to modernise their state, the more backward their empire became. Though social and political history are naturally crucial to such a study, the thematic treatment adopted here also permits an unusually full discussion of the intellectual developments that helped to give educated Russians a sense of cultural autonomy even as their minds were opened to an unprecedented range of Western influences. In order to help the reader further, a chronology and a critical bibliography are also provided to allow students to discover more about this colourful period of Russian history. This is the first book to place Russia's'long'eighteenth century squarely in its European context. The conceptual framework is set out in an opening critique of modernisation which, while rejecting its linear implications, maintains its focus on the relationship between government, economy and society. Following a chronological introduction, a series of thematic chapters (covering topics such as finance and taxation, society, government and politics, culture, ideology, and economy) emphasise the ways in which Russia's international ambitions as an emerging great power provoked administrative and fiscal reforms with wide-ranging (and often unanticipated) social consequences. This thematic analysis allows Simon Dixon to demonstrate that the more the tsars tried to modernise their state, the more backward their empire became. A chronology and critical bibliography are also provided to allow students to discover more about this colourful period of Russian history. "This is the first book to place Russia's 'long' eighteenth century squarely in its European context. The conceptual framework is set out in an opening critique of modernisation theory which, while rejecting its linear implications, maintains its focus on the relationship between government, economy, and society. Following a chronological introduction, a series of thematic chapters emphasise the ways in which Russia's international ambitions as an emerging great power provoked administrative and fiscal reforms with wide-ranging (and often unanticipated) social consequences."--BOOK JACKET.