This introductory-level course, which requires no previous knowledge of Russian history or language, surveys the two transformative centuries from the reign of Peter the Great (1689-1725) to the end of tsarist rule and establishment of Bolshevik (Communist) power in 1917. During this period, the ambitions of the Romanov dynasty to bring Russia into the ranks of European and world powers led to numerous attempts at engineering the economic, social, and cultural transformation of the country, and to the extension of Russian rule to ever more territories and populations (ultimately a sixth of the globe's surface). At the same time, those in power insisted on preserving many of Russia's traditional and distinctive features, including autocratic rule itself. Ultimately, this state of affairs led to social and political breakdown. Approximately half the course will be devoted to the last sixty years of the tsarist period, from defeat in the Crimean War and implementation of the so-called Great Reforms (beginning with the abolition of serfdom), concluding with close analysis of the revolutionary eruptions of 1905 and of February 1917, and a coda on the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917. Special attention will be paid to analysis of the tsarist social structure and the governance of the diverse national and ethnic groups within the Russian empire.

Our general overview reading will be the relevant portion of Walter G. Moss, A History of Russia, vol. 1: to 1917.  The course, being at the introductory level, is also intended to teach students to think as historians do, and to consider the various types of primary sources that can be brought to bear on historical research. We'll be doing our own analysis of a wide range of textual primary sources on tsarist Russia: government documents, novels, personal memoirs, poetry, speeches, petitions, a play, etc. Besides those you'll purchase as books, shorter selections will be posted on the class Collab page. Weekly reading assignments may be anywhere between 100 and 200 pages, depending on source genres. 

Course grades are based on class participation, two take-home midterms, one 5- to 6-page paper, and a cumulative final exam.