Pre-Modern Russia and its World: Essays in Honor of Thomas S. Noonan. Schriften zur Geistesgeschichtc des östlichen Europa, 29 by K. L. Reyerson , T. G. Stavrou , J. D. Tracy (review)

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reviews 355 entirely compromised' (p.41); accordingly, his memoircan be read as an exampleofShostakovich's Rezeptionsgeschichte . Significantly, BokmanthanksSolomonVolkov,yet Variations ontheTheme GalinaUstvolskaya is a verydifferent book fromTestimony (as mightwell be expected,giventhe contrasting figures dealt within each book). Bokman interleaves hisownphilosophical musings withhismemories ofUstvol'skaia, whichare in turnrefracted throughthe experienceof more than three decadesthatseparatetheevents described. The book'sostentatious paratexts - itsnotes,footnotes, acknowledgments, epigraphs and (non-)conclusion makeit clearthatthisis hisUstvol'skaia, and she shouldbe read as such. Thanksare also due to thepublisher, ErnstKuhn: theGesamtverzeichnis at the endofthis volumeillustrates hisprodigious activity inmaking availablea huge bodyofliterature on Russianand Sovietmusic. Wadham College, Oxford PhilipRoss Bullock Reyerson, K. L., Stavrou,T. G. and Tracy,J. D. (eds). Pre-Modern Russia and its World: Essays in Honor of Thomas S. Noonan. Schriften zur Geistesgeschichte des östlichenEuropa, 29. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2006. 179pp. Illustrations. Maps. Figures.Notes.Bibliographies. Index. €48.00(paperback). This volumeis a resultofa conference Tre-ModernRussia and ItsWorld' whichwas held at theUniversity ofMinnesotaon 2 November2002. The conference commemorated thedistinguished scholar,Professor ofHistory at theUniversity ofMinnesota, ThomasSchaubNoonan(1938-2001). Noonan's colleaguesand pupilshavealsopublished a two-volume festschrift inhishonour ,whichwaseditedbyRomanK. Kovalevand HeidiM. Sherman[Russian History /Histoire russe, vol. 28, 2001,nos 1-4; vol. 32, 2005,nos 3-4). Noonan was a leadingauthority on theeconomyofEurasiainthepre-Mongol period (i.e. beforethethirteenth century). In his introductory articleto Pre-Modern Russia, TheofanisG. StavrounotesthatNoonan interpreted economyvery broadly.He includedin it trade,technology transfer, contactsbetweenthe sedentary and nomadicpeoplesand theevolution ofRus' towns.Noonan's understanding ofRus' radically differed from anachronistic viewswhichtend toassociateRus' withone oranother East Slavicnation(comparethetitle of thevolume).According to Noonan, theeconomichistory of Rus' included theRus', Finnic,Baltic,East Slavic,Volga Bulghar, Khazar, Pechenegand Polovtsian peoples.Such a panoramicviewenabledthescholarto includein his studiesvastterritories stretching fromtheArcticto the Black Sea and from theCarpathians to theUrals.Noonan'sresearch interests also extended to theBaltics,theVikingsand CentralAsia. The Islamicworldwas especiallyattractive forNoonan. In his own words,the 'greatest love' of his scholarly lifewas hiscatalogueofIslamicsilver coins(dirhams) from c.700 to c. 1100,on whichhe workedovertwenty years. The papers includedin the volumeperfectly reflect the broadnessand diversity ofNoonan's research. In terms of'political'geography, thearticles 356 SEER, 87, 2, APRIL 200g deal withtheTaman peninsula (J.Shepard),theKhazar state(P. B. Golden), Middle Norway(Anne Stalsbergand Bernhardle Beau), northern Rus' (N. Makarov),Kievan Rus' (Janet Martin),Muscovy(RichardHellie),and medievalpolities ofEurasia(ThomasT. Alisen).Typically ofa collection of articles, thecontributions significantly varyinterms ofchronology, scopeand thelevelofconceptualization. JonathanShepardpointsoutthatcultural interaction does notnecessarily 'promptwholesaleimitation or selective borrowing'. Possiblereactionto a cultural impactincludesconsciousreaction, a hardening ofone's owntraditions , ordisinclination to absorbor assimilate techniques or customs from an alien culture(p. 16). Shepardsuccessfully appliestheseimportant methodologicalobservations to thesubjectofhisextensive and engaging paper(pp. 15-77): theStraits ofKerchand theTaman peninsula. Thankstoitsstrategic, agricultural and commercial significance, thisterritory was as important in regional politics in theeleventh to twelfth centuries as thestraits ofBosporus and theDardanellesinthenineteenth-century EasternQuestion.The Byzantineshad diverseinterests in theregion.It was to theCrimeawhereRus' traders brought theirwaresbeforereachingConstantinople. The area was alsorichwithsurface deposits ofnaphtha, themainingredient oftheefficient non-conventional weaponwhichwas knownas 'Greekfire'.However,'the Byzantine government showeda preference formaintaining relations with surrogate or clientleadersand notablesin theregion,ratherthanessaying direct rulebymeansofgarrisons and taxation'(p. 22). Otherneighbouring politieswerealso deeplyinvolvedin local affairs. In theeighth century, theKhazars had theirownrepresentatives in theregion and established impressive fortresses at Bosporusand Tmutarakan.At the sametime,theKhazars' presencein thearea was constrained bythelackof operational warfleets. As forRus' princes, Sheparddiscerns twoscenarios of their political behaviour inTmutarakan. One groupofprinces had important Byzantine connections and enoughpolitical resources to establish themselves in theMiddle Dnieperregion.They saw Tmutarakanas a seat duringthe periodsofexileor as a base forfortune seeking. Such politics was typical of two princesof Chernigov, MstislavVladimirovich and Oleg Sviatoslavich. Shepard argues that these princeswere clientsof Byzantium.Some of Shepard'sarguments in support ofthisthesis are quiteconvincing (Mstislav's patronageof Greek-style churchbuildingand Oleg's close relationswith EmperorAlexiusComnenus).Otherevidence, likevariousseals,whichmay or may be not be relevantto the princes,is of a somewhatambivalent nature.The assertionabout Mstislavfurthering Byzantineambitionsin EasternCaucasia in theearly1030sseemsto be rather speculative. Another groupofRus' princes acting atTmutarakan included thoseprinces whofailed to succeedas rulersof Tmutarakanor who soon perishedin the political struggle in theterritories northofthesteppe.None oftheregionalpowerholdersenjoyedfullcontrol oftheTaman peninsula.All politicalpowersat Tmutarakan thushad to cooperatewiththelocal elites, whichincludedthe local churchmen and influential families. It is amazingthatsome of these families apparently lastedin theregionfrom thetenth to theearlysixteenth centuries. reviews 357 Like Shepard, JanetMartinlooksat politicalhistory from theperspective...