HI227
Instructor: Marlyn Miller
Office: Miller Library 246
Office Hours: Tuesday 1-4
mlmiller@colby.edu
x5325
THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE: RUSSIA LOOKS TO THE WEST, 1613-1905
In 1613, after years of devastating instability, Michael, the first ruler of the Romanov
Dynasty, took the throne. Until their fall in 1917, this dynasty would turn Russia into a
significant player on the European stage, thanks to Westernization and military
development. Its social and political structure, however, remained remarkably fixed,
and two centuries of reform failed to resolve internal tensions, ultimately leading to
revolution. Using a combination of primary and secondary sources, this course briefly
examines the late Muscovite period and the introduction of the Romanovs. It then
concentrates on Peter I’s military, economic and cultural reforms, Russia’s “Age of
Enlightenment” under Catherine II, continued expansion into non-Russian areas, the
serf question and peasant unrest, the persistence of the autocratic model, the influence of
the Orthodox Church, the failure of the Crimean War, the liberation of the serfs and the
reforms and reaction of the latter nineteenth century. It also examines the development
of revolutionary and social movements, industrialization, literary culture and the
growth of education, and finally the revolution of 1905, which was the beginning of the
end for the Romanov dynasty.
Course requirements:
Participation and Readings: 20%
Three short papers: 15% each =45%
Take-home final: 35%
Please note, attendance is mandatory. Please discuss potential problems with your
instructor.
Course page:
You can access the course page at http://www.colby.edu/academics_cs/courses/HI227 for
the syllabus and copies of powerpoints and assignments.
Required texts:
James Cracraft, ed. Major Problems in the History of Imperial Russia
Nadezhda Durova, The Cavalry Maiden
Boris Gorshkov, trans. A Life Under Russian Serfdom
Walter G. Moss, A History of Russia, Volume I: to 1917
Dmitrii Ivanovich Rostislavov, Provincial Russia in the Age of Enlightenment
Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons
Note: Readings in parentheses are required. Reading in brackets [ ] are suggested only.
Monday, January 7 – Introduction/Historical Overview
Tuesday, January 8 – Muscovite Russia (Discuss: Cracraft 4-21, 31-34, 46-58, 67-78,
Historical Overview and The Muscovite Heritage) [Moss, 160-183]
Wednesday, January 9 – The Era of Peter the Great: Overview, Petrine State-Building
Reforms (Discuss Cracraft The Era of Peter the Great 83-110) [Moss 222-250]
Thursday, January 10 – The Era of Peter the Great: Economy, Society, Culture, and
Revolt (Discuss Cracraft 110-125, The Era of Peter the Great, and A Life Under Russian
Serfdom, entire.)
Monday, January 14 –Post-Petrine Consolidation: Politics, Economy (Discuss: Cracraft
128-146, 153-165, From Peter to Catherine) [Moss 251-266, 291-311]
Tuesday, January 15 – Post-Petrine Consolidation: Society and Revolt (Discuss:
Cracraft 167-197, The Age of Catherine) [Moss 267-290]
Wednesday, January 16 – Post-Petrine Consolidation: Nationalities and Culture
(Discuss Cracraft, 212-220, The Age of Catherine, 234-243, Empire Building) [Moss 313330]
Thursday, January 17 – Pre-Reform Russia: State, Politics, Foreign Policy, War
(Discuss The Cavalry Maiden, 1-67, 113-156, 164-173, 215-225) [Moss 331-353, 356-374]]
Monday, January 21 – Pre-Reform Russia: Society and Nationalities (Discuss Cracraft:
256-282, 302-312 Apogee of Empire) [Moss 376-397]
Tuesday, January 22 – Pre-Reform Russia: Culture (Discussion: Cracraft 410-437,
Empire Building) [Moss 411-416]
Wednesday, January 23 – Emancipation of the Serfs and the Great Reforms: (Discuss:
Cracraft: Emancipation and the great reforms, 315-327, 329-344) [Moss 422-440]
Thursday, January 24 – Society in the Reform Period, (Discuss: Cracraft Late Imperial
Society 520-548, Rostislavov, selections) [Moss, 517-547]
Monday, January 28 – Economy in the Reform Period – The Revolutionary Movement
(Discuss: Cracraft, Industrialization 454-489)
Tuesday, January 29 – Crisis and Counter-Reform, Late Imperial Culture (Discuss:
Cracraft 362-369, 383-397, Reaction and Counter-Reform)[Moss 441-462, 552-573]
Wednesday, January 30 - The Revolutionary Situation (Discuss: Cracraft, Opposition
to the Imperial Regime, 595-611)
Thursday, January 31 – The Revolutionary Situation (Fathers and Sons, entire)
TAKE HOME FINAL due Monday, February 4th in my office, Miller 246.