Periodization as Decolonization

Abstract

Abstract This piece argues that a greater understanding of the role of regions in Russian history could lead to different ways of writing Russian history that need not center the state. By including a wider range of intellectual and political actors from the regions, as well as tracing the long connections between them and Ukrainian thinkers, such a history would make regions subjects rather than simply objects. The original post and the significant number of responses provide an important snapshot of the thinking of the field of Russian history about questions related to the territorial integrity of Russia and Ukraine. The responses also deal with related topics concerning the role of indigenous peoples and the processes of colonization in the narrative of Russian history.