The Russian Moment in World History

by Marshall T. Poe and Marshall T. Poe

Book Overview

Is Russian history one big inevitable failure? The Soviet Union's demise and Russia's ensuing troubles have led many to wonder. But this is to look through a skewed prism indeed. In this provocative and elegantly written short history of Russia, Marshall Poe takes us well beyond the Soviet haze deep into the nation's fascinating--not at all inevitable, and in key respects remarkably successful--past.

Tracing Russia's course from its beginnings...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691126062
• ISBN13: 9780691126067
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

If half a millennium of Russian history is to be distilled

into a hundred pages of text, one has to have a strong thesis. Poe does: once the Muscovite state collected itself in the sixteenth century, he says, Russia embarked on an alternative path to modernity. Unlike Europe, Russia combined autocracy, "control of the public sphere," state-controlled economy, and "state-sponsored militarism." This mix, moreover, made Russia the only "sustainable society capable of resisting the challenge of Europe." With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 400-year "Russian moment" ended -- that is, the Russian path to modernity expired, and something else now awaits the country. Much of Poe's general description will not be contested, except by those who consider Russia to be historically a part of Europe. His analysis -- that Russia had no other choice, given its location, lack of resources, and weak society -- will be. If those who disagree can offer a counterargument as compact, vigorous, and accessible as Poe's, the rest of us will greatly benefit.

A significant success

Marshall Poe has achieved prominence as one of the finest empiricists studying early modern Russian history. In the current essay, weighing in at a mere one hundred and thirty breezy pages, Poe finds the seeds of the modern Russian crisis in the early modern period he knows so well. It is a fascinating premise which is certain to draw fire from many quarters. But what separates Poe's book from the myriad "explanations" of the demise of the Russian empire is that this meticulously crafted essay is the work of a first-rate (and sometimes brilliant) scholar. Highly recommended.