The Romanov Empire 1613-1917: Autocracy and Opposition. Brief Histories by Alan Wood (review)

Abstract

552 SEER, 88, 3, JULY 20I0 womanly virtues seemed to be a decisive force both in history and in revolu tionary struggles against nature and savagery' (p. 215). The final case study is byMichaela Pohl, who draws on both archival and oral history research to reassess how voluntary setders, exiled national populations and indigenous people experienced inter-communal relations and constructed social identities in the Kazakh 'Virgin Lands' (tseliny)in the 1950s and afterwards. In his concluding chapter, Alfred J. Rieber reflects on the volume's core themes, returning, in the lightof the case studies, to questions raised earlier concerning continuity and change, and presenting some intriguing and suggestive ideas on the 'paradoxes' of Russian colonization (p. 267), especially the 'tension between Utopian visions and dystopian results, and the ambiguity of the civilizing mission' (pp. 267-68). This volume isnot a comprehensive history ofRussian colonization (there is littiehere on the eighteenth century, on migrations towards the north or west, on urban settiement, or on non-Russian mobility within the empire), but itsgeographical and chronological scope is still marvellously wide, and it raises many crucial questions and offersa series ofwell-researched, imagina tive and sensitive analyses of settlement in different periods and places. It splendidly achieves itsgoal 'to showcase' (p. 6) the best and most innovative recent scholarship in thisfield. Its studies ofRussian colonization, moreover, encompass many other themes central toRussia's political, economic, social and cultural development. The volume is to be unreservedly recommended to all readers interested inRussian and Eurasian history or in comparative histories of empire, the frontier,migration and settlement. School of History Universityof Nottingham Nick Baron Wood, Alan. The Romanov Empire 1613?1917: Autocracy and Opposition. Brief Histories. Hodder Arnold, London, 2007. xvii + 425 pp. Maps. Figures. Tables. Notes. Select bibliography. Index. ?19.99 (paperback). The Romanov Empire 1613-1917 represents a formidable effort to provide an accurate and well argued account of the history of theRomanov dynasty and the imperial period in Russian history. Wood's well compressed account emphasizes both the period between the reigns ofTsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Nicholas II, but also offersan extensive introduction which encompasses themost importantmoments of early Russian statehood. The book isorganized in twelve chapters. The first two, entided 'Land and Peoples', and 'Kievan, Mongol and earlyMuscovite Russia', present useful statistical data on theRussian state and 'Russianness' in general, with com parisons drawn between present-day and Imperial Russia. This is followed by an attempt, which is repeated regularly throughout this volume, to tackle some of the period stereotypes relating toKievan Rus' and beyond, which features an interesting interpretation of theMongol invasion. Chapters three and four continue the quest, taking the reader through theTime ofTroubles and the election of the firstRomanov Tsar to the reign of Peter theGreat. REVIEWS 553 The description of Peter's reign, along with an account of theTsar's reforms, includes a vivid account of the latter'sEuropean voyages. The next section of three chapters relates solely to the period of 'palace revolutions', itsmonarchs and key figures.Wood concludes his portrayal of the 'revolutionary' period in 1762, focusingmainly on the reigns ofCatherine I, Anna, Elizabeth and Peter III, and then incorporates the coup against Pavel I in 1801 and theDecembrist revolt in 1825.His material covers a wide range of issues, from foreign policy to the economy and society.Highlights of this section areWood's coverage of the reign of Catherine theGreat and his analysis of the anti-autocratic coup against Nicholas I. Chapters eight, nine and ten address the emergence and development of Russian liberal thought against the background of the deeds ofNicholas I, Alexander II and Alexander III. Examining various levels of 'oppression' extant under the rule of the 'Gendarme ofEurope' and Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, Wood moves on to the reforms and transformations brought forward during the reign of Alexander II, presenting us with an intriguing listof possible reasons and preconditions related to the 1861 emancipation of the serfs. The section concludes with a detailed investigation of the rise of revolutionary thought within Russian society in the second half of the nineteenth century,with an emphasis on industrialization, foreign affairs and 'nationalism'. The two concluding chapters represent thefinal two...