HIS-3001 Modern Russia
This course covers the period between Peter the Great (1682-1725) and the decline and fall of the Soviet Union. A major theme of these frequently tumultuous years is Russia's struggle to narrow the economic, technological, and often cultural breech that existed between it and Western Europe. Another central aspect of Russian History during these years is the failure, at least up until the 1990s, of any form of limitation to be imposed on the authority of its rulers. For a number of reasons addressed in this course, absolute power, whether in the hands of the Czars or Commissars, was the political reality. Also considered is Russia's unique geographical location making it simultaneously European and Asian.