Russia And The Soviet Union

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Overview

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 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 ...
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Overview

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 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 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.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781459614291
  • Publisher: ReadHowYouWant, LLC
  • Publication date: 5/26/2011
  • Pages: 834
  • Product dimensions: 7.00 (w) x 10.00 (h) x 1.65 (d)

Meet the Author

John M. Thompson taught history at Indiana University for seventeen years and was a distinguieshed visiting professor at the U.S. Air Force Adcademy and the Air War College. He is currently teaching Russian and world history at Midcoast Senior College in Maine.

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Table of Contents

List of Maps
Preface
Preface to the First Edition
1 Ancient Russia and the Kievan State 1
The Russian Land 1
The Peoples of Russia 5
The Slavs Come to Russia 9
The Formation of the Kievan State 10
How Did Kievan Russians Make a Living? 12
Kievan Society 15
Religion and Culture in Kievan Russia 16
Power and Politics in Kievan Russia 20
The Fall and Significance of Kievan Russia 22
2 Russia Divided and Conquered, 1054-1462 25
Russia Divided 25
The Mongol Scourge 29
The Impact of the Mongols 33
The Decline of Mongol Power 38
3 Moscow and "the Gathering of the Russian Lands" 1328-1533 41
The Odds Against Moscow 42
Moscow's Advantages 43
The Unification of Russia, 1328-1533 49
4 Ivan the Terrible and the Time of Troubles, 1533-1618 58
The Personality and Character of Ivan the Terrible 58
The Reforms of Ivan IV 61
Ivan Versus the Aristocracy: The Establishment of Autocracy in Russia 63
The Time of Troubles, 1598-1613 67
5 The Molding of Russian Society, 1613-89 75
Serfdom 77
The Autocracy 81
The Orthodox Church 84
The Expansion of Russia 86
Relations with the West 90
6 Peter the Great and Westernization, 1689-1725 93
Peter's Coming of Age 95
Peter's Personality and Character 96
Peter in War and Diplomacy 98
Peter's Reforms 101
Resistance to Peter 105
Significance of Peter the Great 107
7 Change and Continuity, 1725-1801 109
Peter's Successors, 1725-62 111
Catherine the Great, 1762-96 113
Russian Expansion and Colonization 118
Economic and Social Development 120
The Changing Role of the Nobility 122
Education and Culture 124
The Reign of Paul I, 1796-1801 126
8 Power, Backwardness, and Creativity, 1801-55 129
The Serf Economy 131
Russia Unchanged 133
Creativity and Dissent 137
Russia - Arbiter of Europe, Colonizer of Asia and America 140
9 Reform, Reaction, and Modernization, 1855-1904 147
The Era of the Great Reforms, 1855-81 149
Terror and Reaction 153
Economic and Social Modernization, 1861-1905 156
Competing Ideologies 160
10 Revolution, Reform, and War, 1904-17 168
The Revolution of 1905 169
The Duma Period, 1906-14 174
The Silver Age: Russian Culture, 1890-1917 179
Russian Involvement in World War I, 1914-17 181
11 Revolution, Civil War, and the Founding of Soviet Society, 1917-28 187
The February Revolution: The Collapse of the Tsarist System 188
The Bolsheviks Come to Power 193
Civil War and Foreign Intervention, 1918-21 198
The New Economic Policy and Coexistence, 1921-28 203
The Struggle for Power 206
12 The Second Revolution, the Stalinist System, and World War II, 1928-46 211
The Revolution from Above: Industrialization and Collectivization 211
The Stalinist System 219
Soviet Culture, 1917-53 223
Stalin and the World, 1928-46 224
13 The Soviet Union as a Superpower: Change, Stagnation, and "Cold War," 1946-81 234
Reconstruction and Renewed Stalinism 234
The Cold War 236
Ideological Rigidity and Repression 242
The Succession to Stalin and the Rise of Khrushchev 243
Peaceful Coexistence and Troubles in Eastern Europe 248
Origins of the Sino-Soviet Split 250
Ups and Downs in Soviet-Western Relations 252
Khrushchev: Reformer or Repairman? 254
Bureaucratic Stability Under Brezhnev and His Successors 257
Detente and Its Erosion 259
The Changing Soviet Society 263
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