Imperial Russia, Spring 2022, Virginia Tech
Instructor: Tom Ewing

This course examines the history of Russia from Peter the Great through the Russian Revolution. Particular attention will be devoted to the formation of the Imperial state, changing relations between and within social classes, attempts to modernize in response to European models, the critical intellectual movement of the nineteenth century, the role of the Orthodox Church, the relationship between nationalities within and bordering on the Imperial state, and the social and political pressures that led to the revolution in 1905 and the ensuing demise of the Russian Empire. This course is designed to encourage students to pursue three objectives:
1) To become familiar with important events, people, and processes of Russian history during the Imperial periods of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
2) To understand the causal relationship between these events, people, and processes and the problems and patterns of contemporary Russia and the world.
3) To develop the analytical skills necessary to understand processes of change in terms of both the experiences of individuals and the development of broader communities.

Required books:
Gregory Freeze, editor, Russia: A History (chapters 4-8, also regularly assigned for HIST 3604 / 3644)
Simon Dixon, Catherine the Great
Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons (any edition)

Semester assignments (grade):
Exams (2), take-home, due March 2 and April 29, 20% each, 40% of semester grade
Collaborative projects (3), due February 21, April 20, and May 2, 20% each, 60% of semester grade

Project #1: Assassination of a Czar

Project #2: American newspaper coverage of George Kennan