Rutgers History Russia under the Tsars course

Russian noblemen gambling away their slaves. From an 1854 cartoon by Gustave Doré.

Fall 2014: History 510:375:01
Classes held in Armitage 225

Laurie Bernstein
429 Cooper Street, #202
(856) 225-2716
lbernste@camden.rutgers.edu

Office hours:
Tuesdays 11am-12pm, 1:30-3pm
Wednesdays 9-11am
Thursdays 8:30-9:15am, 11-12 pm
and by appointment 

 

Since the collapse of communism in 1991, observers have been struck by the similarities between contemporary Russia and the society that existed before the Revolutions of 1917. With Russian literature and first-hand accounts as our guides, we shall explore pre-revolutionary Russian history from the emergence of the Romanov dynasty in 1613 until the first revolution to shake the tsarist state in 1905. En route we shall encounter the lives not only of tsars like Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and the last Romanov, Nicholas II, but of peasants, workers, and revolutionaries. Why did autocracy emerge as the form of rule in Russia? What was the relationship between Russia and the West? Why did Imperial Russia fall in the early twentieth century? Finally, what was unique and what was not about Russia’s historical path?

Required reading:

Nicholas V. Riasanovsky and Mark D. Steinberg, A History of Russia, (8th edition) (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010) ISBN 9780195341973

Anton Chekhov, Five Plays (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008) ISBN 9780199536696

Alexander Pushkin, Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009) ISBN 9780199538645

All additional required reading is posted on Sakai Resources

Course requirements:

Attendance and participation (10 points) – Students are expected to attend each and every scheduled class, to arrive on time, to come prepared in terms of the reading and writing assignments, and to participate in class discussions. There will be no use of cell phones or other communication devices during class: students are to turn off their communication devices before they come into the classroom. If students use laptops in class, they are to sit in the back row so that what’s on their screen does not distract other students, and they are expected to use their laptops only for taking notes or viewing materials for the course. There are no excused absences: students simply lose 10 points out of 100 every time they are absent and when they leave class without informing me in advance. Students also lose points every time they are late. Courtesy dictates that students should not walk in and out of the room during class time, and also that those who cannot attend a scheduled class should let me know via email or voicemail prior to that class.

Comments on chapters in A History of Russia (1 point each for a total of 10 points) – Ten times over the course of the semester on the dates specified in the syllabus*, students are to hand in typewritten and double-spaced comments that provide (1) in their own words two historical facts/phenomena they found particularly striking from the pages assigned in our text (with specific page references); (2) an observation about what was so interesting in relation to those facts/phenomena; and (3) a question about a relevant historical problem from the chapter. No late comments on A History of Russia will be accepted unless a student will be absent and has left them for me in my Cooper Street mailbox or sent them to me via email in a readable Word file before the start of class on the day they are due. (*There are eleven opportunities for turning in comments on our text. Students are welcome to avail themselves of all these for extra credit, or they may choose to write only a total of ten comments.)

Comments on our secondary sources (3 points each for a total of 30 points) – Ten times over the course of the semester on the dates specified in the syllabus prior to that day’s 9:30 a.m. class, students are to submit through ?Sakai typewritten? and ?double?spaced ?comments on ?that ?week’s ?assigned? secondary? source.? Students ?will ?(1) ?in ?their ?own ?words ?summarize? the ?author’s ?main point, ?i.e., ?the ?author’s ?overall ?historical ?argument, ?in ?one ?or ?two ?sentences; (2) ?write? a ?sentence? about? the ?specific ?kinds ?of ?primary ?(not ?secondary) sources ?the ?author ?relied ?on ?as? evidence? for? the? article; ?and ?(3) ?comment ?in one ?or ?two? sentences on ?the? relevance? of? the? article? to? what ?we’ve ?been studying about Russian history. (*There are eleven opportunities for turning in comments on our secondary sources. Students are welcome to avail themselves of all these for possible extra credit, or they may choose to write only a total of ten comments.)

Quizzes (10 points) – There will be two short quizzes worth five points each on the reading assignments by Pushkin and Chekhov.

Midterm examination (10 points) – The midterm will cover the first half of the course, and it will consist of historical identifications and a primary source requiring historical annotations.

Final paper (15 points) – Students ?will ?write ?and? submit? via ?Sakai ?prior? to? our ?final? class ?a ?four?to?five page? review ?of ?a? monograph ?published ?by ?a ?university? press? that ?treats ?some? specific ?aspect ?of ?Russian ?history ?from?1613?1905.? Specific? guidelines? for ?this? assignment ?will ?be ?posted? on ?Sakai ?Resources.? Students ?must ?commit ?to ?a ?book ?by ?November? 13 ?and ?may ?not ?proceed ?to? write ?a? review? without ?my? written ?approval.

Final examination (15 points) – The final, held on December 18 from 8-11 a.m., will focus on the second half of the course and follow the structure of the midterm, but it will also include an essay question relevant to the class as a whole.


When ?you ?complete ?this? course,? you ?will ?know? how? to:

  • understand ?the? rise ?and? fall ?of ?autocracy? and? serfdom ?in ?tsarist ?Russia
  • identify ?the ?ruling ?members? of ?the ?Romanov ?dynasty
  • identify? other? key? historical? figures ?in ?Russia
  • identify ?the ?rise ?of ?the ?Russian? intelligentsia
  • trace? the ?expansion? of ?Muscovy ?and? the ?Russian ?Empire
  • trace ?the ?development? of ?Russian? civil ?society
  • understand? tsarist ?policy? toward ?non?Russian ?nationalities, ?including? Jews
  • understand? the ?origins ?of ?Russia’s ?terrorist ?movement
  • understand? Russian? economic? development, ?especially ?industrialization
  • trace ?the? rise? of? the? Russian? working ?class
  • understand ?the ?development? of ?Russia’s? revolutionary? movement
  • trace ?the? origins? of? class ?antagonisms? leading ?to ?the ?Russian? revolutions
  • distinguish ?among? oppositional ?ideologies,? including ?Marxism? and? Populism
  • distinguish ?between? Bolsheviks ?and ?Mensheviks
  • understand ?Russia’s? relationship? with ?Europe ?and? the ?West
  • understand ?Russia’s? role ?in ?several ?international ?conflicts, ?including ?the Napoleonic,? Crimean, ?and ?Russo?Japanese? wars
  • understand ?two ?classic ?works? of Russian ?literature? in? terms ?of ?their ?historical context
  • interpret ?primary? sources about ?Russia? in ?their ?historical ?context
  • read? and? assess? secondary? sources? according? to? the? discipline ?of ?history
  • cite? sources ?according? to? the ?discipline ?of ?history
  • raise? questions? about ?existing ?historical ?narratives ?of ?Russia’s ?development

Introduction to the course and Russian History

Tuesday, September 2

The rise of autocracy in Russia

Thursday, September 4         

Read A History of Russia, “The Reigns of Michael, 1613-45, Alexis, 1645-76, and Theodore, 1676-82” and “Muscovite Russia: Economy, Society, Institutions” and “Muscovite Russia: Religion and Culture,” pages 173-209
*Responses to A History of Russia, pp. 173-209 must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday, September 9  

Read? on ?Sakai ?Resources: ?Nancy? Shields ?Kollmann,? “The ?Quality? of? Mercy?in ?Russian? Legal ?Practice,”? Kritika: ?Explorations? in ?Russian and ?Eurasian ?History ?v.?7 ,?no.? 1 ?(Winter?2006) :?5?22 

Read? on ?Sakai? Resources: ?document?#1 ?(Krizhanich’s? Observations ?o n?Russia’s? Potential? Strengths ?and ?Weaknesses)?

*Comments ?on ?Kollman’s? article must? be? submitted? via ?Sakai ?before? 9:30 ?a.m

Peter the Great and his legacy

Thursday, September 11

Read A History of Russia, “The Reign of Peter the Great, 1682-1725,” pages 211-238

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #2 (Von Korb’s Diary), #3 (How Russians Celebrated the New Year), and #4 (Peter’s Relations with His Son Alexei)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 211-238 must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday, September 16

Read on Sakai Resources: Lindsey? Hughes ,?“‘Nothing? Is ?Too ?Small ?for ?a ?Great ?Man’: Peter ?the ?Great’s? Little? Houses ?and ?the ?Creation ?of ?Some? Petrine ?Myths,” The Slavonic ?and ?East ?European? Review? v.?81, ?no.?4 ?(October?2003): ?634?658
*Comments on Hughes’s article must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Eighteenth-century Russia

Thursday, September 18

Read A History of Russia, “Russian History from Peter the Great to Catherine the Great: the Reigns of Catherine I, 1725-27, Peter II, 1727-30, Anne, 1730-40, Ivan VI, 1740-41, Elizabeth, 1741-62, and Peter III, 1762” and “The Economic and Social Development of Russia in the Eighteenth Century,” pages 239-250 and pages 272-279

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #4 (The ‘Conditions’ of Anna Ivanovna’s Accession to the Throne), #5 (Synod Decree on Underage Marriages, December 1756), and #6 (Peter III’s Manifesto)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 239-250 and 272-279 must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Tuesday, September 23

Read on Sakai Resources: Paul W. Werth, “Coercion and Conversion: Violence and the Mass Baptism of the Volga Peoples, 1740–55,” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History v. 4, no. 3 (Summer 2003): 543-569
*Comments on Werth’s article must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Thursday, September 25

No class today (Rosh Hashanah)

Catherine the Great and Russia’s Enlightenment

Tuesday, September 30

Read A History of Russia, “The Reigns of Catherine the Great, 1762-96, and Paul, 1796-1801” and “Russian Culture in the Eighteenth Century,” pages 251-271 and 280-295

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #7 (Catherine the Great’s “Nakaz”), #8 (The Pugachev Rebellion), and #9 (Radishchev)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 251-271 and 280-295 must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Thursday, October 2

Read on Sakai Resources: Sara Dickinson, “Russia’s First ‘Orient’: Characterizing the Crimea in 1787,” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History v.3, no.1 (Winter 2002): 3-25

*Comments on Dickinson’s article must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m. 

The two faces of Alexander I                  

Tuesday, October 7

Read A History of Russia, “The Reign of Alexander I, 1801-1825” and “The Economic and Social Development of Russia in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century,” pages 296-318 and 337-343

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #10 (Alexander I’s Proclamations During the War of 1812) and #11 (Karamzin)

*Responses to A History of Russia, 296-318 and 337-343 must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Thursday, October 9

Read ?on ?Sakai ?Resources: ?Alexander ?Martin, ?“Lost ?Arcadia: ?The? 1812 ?War ?and Russian? Images? of ?Aristocratic ?Womanhood,” ?European ?History ?Quarterly ?v.37 ?(2007): ?603?621
*Comments on ?Martin’s ?article ?must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

Nicholas I, the “iron tsar”

Tuesday, October 14

Read A History of Russia, “The Reign of Nicholas I, 1825-55” and “Russian Culture in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century” up to the section entitled “Ideologies,” pages 319-336 and 344-354

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #12 (Bestuzhev), and #13 (Project for a Constitution)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 319-336 and 344-354 ?must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

Thursday, October 16

Read on Sakai Resources: Adina Ofek, “Cantonists: Jewish Children as Soldiers in Tsar Nicholas’s Army,” Modern Judaism v. 13, no. 3 (October 1993): 277-308
*Comments on Ofek’s article ?must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

Midterm exam

Tuesday, October 21

The emergence of the intelligentsia

Thursday, October 21

Read Pushkin, Eugene Onegin

Quiz on Pushkin

Tuesday, October 28

Read A History of Russia, the remaining sections in “Russian Culture in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century” beginning with “Ideologies” through the chapter’s end, pages 354-362

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #14 (Russia and the World) and #15 (Belinskii’s Letter)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 354-362 must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

Thursday, October 30

Read on Sakai Resources: Rebecca ?Friedman,? “Romantic? Friendship ?in ?the Nicholaevan ?University,” Russian? Review? v.? 62 ?(April? 2003): ?262?280

*Comments on Friedman’s article ?must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

Alexander II and his Great Reforms

Tuesday, November? 4 – ?­?Make ?use ?of ?your? precious? citizenship ?and? be? sure ?to ?vote ?today!

Read A History of Russia, “The Reign of Alexander II, 1855-81,” up to the section entitled “The Difficult Sixties,” pages 363-373

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #16 (Description of the Clergy), #17 (Alexander II’s Abolition of Serfdom)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 363-373 must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

Thursday, November 6

Read ?on ?Sakai ?Resources: ?Louise ?McReynolds, ?“Witnessing? for ?the? Defense:? The Adversarial ?Court ?and ?Narratives ?of ?Criminal ?Behavior ?in? Nineteenth?Century Russia,” ?Slavic ?Review? v. ?69, ?no .?3 ?(Fall?2010) :?620?644
*Comments? on ?McReynolds’s article? must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

The emergence of the revolutionary movement

Tuesday, November 11

Read A History of Russia, the remaining sections in “The Reign of Alexander II, 1855-81” beginning with “The Difficult Sixties,” pages 373-384

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #18 (Catechism of the Revolutionary), #19 (Death of Alexander II), and #20 (Killing an Emperor)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 373-384 must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

Thursday, November 13

Read? on ?Sakai ?Resources: Lynne? Hartnett, ?“The ?Making? of ?a ?Revolutionary? Icon: ?Vera Nikolaevna ?Figner ?and? the? People’s ?Will ?in ?the ?Wake ?of ?the ?Assassination ?of Tsar ?Aleksandr ?II,” ?Canadian? Slavonic ?Papers/Revue ?Canadienne? des? Slavistes v. ?43, ?no .?2?3? (June?September? 2001): ?249?270
*Comments ?on ?Hartnett’s? article ?must? be? submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.
*Submission ?of ?full ?reference ?for ?final ?paper? book? review? (author,? title? of ?book,? publisher,? year ?of ?publication),? along ?with ?a ?statement? about ?why? you ?chose this ?particular ?book. ?No ?final ?papers? will ?be? accepted? unless? I? have? provided permission? to? review? the ?selected ?monograph? in ?advance.

Autocracy’s last stand

Tuesday, November 18

Read A History of Russia, “The Reign of Alexander III, 1881-94, and the First Part of the Reign of Nicholas II, 1894-1905,” pages 385-399

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #21 (Alexander III’s manifesto), #22 (Pobedonostsev)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 385-399 must ?be ?submitted ?via ?Sakai ?before ?9:30 ?a.m.

Thursday, November 20

Read? on ?Sakai ?Resources:? James? von? Geldern,? “Life ?In?Between: ?Migration? and? Popular ?Culture ?in ?Late ?Imperial ?Russia,” ?Russian ?Review ?v. ?55 ?(July 1996):? 365?383
*Comments? on ?Geldern’s ?article ?must ?be? submitted ?via ?Sakai? before ?9:30 ?a.m.

The decline of the Russian gentry

Tuesday, November 25

Read Chekhov, “The Cherry Orchard”

Quiz on Chekhov

Thursday, November 27

No class today – Thanksgiving

Revolution!

Tuesday, December 2

Read A History of Russia, “The Last Part of the Reign of Nicholas II: The Revolution of 1905 and the Constitutional Period” up to the section entitled “The Fundamental Laws,” and “The Economic and Social Development of Russia from the ‘Great Reforms’ until the Revolution of 1917,” pages 400-405 and 421-438

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #23 (Lenin’s “What Is To Be Done?”), #24 (Gapon’s Petition), and #25 (October Manifesto)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pages 400-401 and 421-438 must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Thursday, December 4

Read on Sakai Resources: Bruce W. Menning, “Miscalculating One’s Enemies: Russian Military Intelligence before the Russo-Japanese War,” War in History v. 13, no. 2 (April 2006): 141-170

*Comments on Menning’s article must be submitted via Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

Whither goes Russia?

Tuesday, December 6

Read A History of Russia, “The Last Part of the Reign of Nicholas II: The Revolution of 1905 and the Constitutional Period” from the section entitled “The Fundamental Laws” up to the section entitled “Stolypin’s Policy,” pages 405-409

Read on Sakai Resources: documents #26 (The Speech from the Throne), #27 (The Reply of the State Duma), #28 (The Government’s Declaration to the First Duma), and #29 (The Duma’s Vote of No Confidence in the Government)

*Responses to A History of Russia, pp. 405-409 must be submitted to Sakai before 9:30 a.m.

*Final papers due in class

Final exam

Thursday, December 18 from 8-11 a.m. in Armitage 225