Imperial Russia

In 1613 the Romanov dynasty, infamous for the absolutism of its rule, began with the election of Mikhail. This course will explore these curious foundations of the dynasty and the dramatic westernizing changes to it wrought in the eighteenth century by Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, the Great Reforms of the 1860s, the roots and nature of the monarchy's collapse in 1917, and the execution of the last Romanov tsar, Nicholas II and fate of other "Whites." The course will also consider the intersections between political power and social structures and social mobility; arts, culture, and ideas; diplomacy, war, and military/police culture; law and institutions; and resistance to the regime. The multi-national character of the Russian empire and the key role in its politics and economics of unfree labor will also be central themes.