Russia's Empires, Their Rise and Fall: From Prehistory to Putin by Philip Longworth (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 127 Longworth, Philip. Russia's Empires, Their Rise and Fall: From Prehistory to Putin. John Murray, London, 2006. xvii + 398 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Chronology. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ?9.99 (paperback). This paperback edition puts the reviewer at a disadvantage. Its small print makes itdifficult to read, while itwill not stay open as notes are being taken from it.For his part, on the other hand, the author has been able not only to correct three errors and a typographical mistake noticed in the hardback but also to add a new preface. The book's last sentence ends as follows: 'as I write in September 2004, itwould be unwise towrite offRussia's chances of future power' (p. 326). The Preface to the Paperback Edition, dated February 2006, begins: 'A fifth Russian empire isnow under construction. Until a fewmonths ago thatprospect seemed most improbable ifnot impossible.' Indeed, Russian history isfullof sudden surprises:many a prediction has turned out tobe false; some eventualities have not been predicted. One can only agree with the author as he dismisses some of the more inaccurate forecasts in this Preface: 'A sober assessment of realities in the light of the past might have been a surer guide' (p. ix).One can also give him threemore errors (all concerning the seventeenth century) and another typographical mistake to correct in any future edition. The companion of Patrick Gordon inRiga was Walter Airth (not Ert) (p. 137); the emissary to the Pope was Paul (notRobert) Menzies (p. 148); and Peter returned toMoscow from theGreat Embassy in 1698 (not 1696) (p. 152).The misprint is on p. 329 ? 'Anna Iovanovna'. Philip Longworth isa practised writer as well as a thoughtful scholar. This, his eighth book, isboth readable and stimulating. It startswith a bang in the shape of a challenging chapter entitled 'The Russians: Who Are They?' which finds an answer in prehistory as itmakes use of thework of anthropologists, archaeologists and linguists.One of the desirable characteristics of historians is the ability to make a plausible narrative out of intractable material, and Longworth demonstrates this to the full not only in the opening chapter but also in the others as he describes the rise and fall of four empires. By no means everybody will be happy with the broad application of the concept 'empire'. Sticklers for constitutional niceties might want it applied exclusively to the Holy Roman in the medieval period, while even those of a more liberal disposition might well find it stretched in the case of theKievan. However, without at least some consideration of this early example of the phenomenon, the author would have found itdifficult to elaborate his overall exposition. To a lesser extent, the same arguments might apply to the second case, the Muscovite. The third empire, the Romanov, is most generally acceptable. As for the fourth, the Soviet, both proud imperialists and staunch anti-imperialists might well find cause to cavil. Wisely perhaps in these circumstances, Longworth disarms such critics by eschewing any extended discussion of the nature of empire as addressed by social scientists and political ideologists. The notes and bibliography include a wide range of sources, nevertheless. Inevitably in a work of this scale, there are strikingomissions: for example, on Peter theGreat, there is no mention of three leadingWestern specialists ? Bushkovitch, Cracraft and Hughes. But the overriding impression leftby this 128 SEER, 87, I, JANUARY 2OO9 book is of its informed insightson a goodly number of subjects, not least the arrival and departure ofGorbachev. In general, the treatment of the Soviet period ismore balanced than is stilloften to be found even inpost-Cold War years. The account of the arrival of theCold War itselfisa pertinent example. And excellent use ismade of the author's other work, especially his book The Making of EasternEurope. In his Preface to the Paperback Edition, 'in the lightof thepast' no doubt, Longworth makes a prediction: 'The new Russian Empire will not be like the last, but a sphere of influence, as is theAmerican' (p. ix).Here is an insight deserving further consideration in any future edition, well worth inclusion in the comparisons he has already made with earlier counterparts. For, gener ally speaking, we cannot fully understand the...