The Romanovs: Ruling Russia, 1613-1917 by Lindsey Hughes (review)

Abstract

reviews 757 thatallowedtheprincipalities thespaceinwhichtotakerootas muchas any supposedcontribution bythenomadsto theiroriginal foundation. In places,Vásáryoverplays hishand.His original, measureddescription of theAsenidsas ofVlach descent butbearingCumannamesslyly alters and by tneend01nisaccountme/'seniasaretnorougmy i urKic. roritspart,vasarys accountoftheVlach entry intoEuropereliesin partupon an outdatedhistoriography . It is notenoughto saythat,becauseVlachsare notmentioned intheHungariankingdom before1200,they werenotyetarrived, forwehave virtually no evidenceofanything in Hungaryuntiltheexplosionofrecords therein thethirteenth century. Likewise, thenotionofa Romaniandescälecat ('dismounting') intoMoldavia in thefourteenth century has long been disproven bythearchaeological evidence. Yet,inanother sense,Vásárydoesnot go farenough.The idea thatCumansonlysettled inHungary inanynumber inthe1230smaybe countered byreferences inByzantine andWestern sources thatpointto a significant Cuman contribution to Hungarianmilitary power in the twelfth century. Moreover,the earliestextantHungarianchronicle, written around1200,positsa jointHungarian-Cuman polity, boundbyoaths, whereinthe Cumans playedthepartof theruler'svaliantknights. It may wellbe, therefore, thatstudiesofthemedievalBalkanprincipalities should acknowledgethe oftencriticalrole played in theirdevelopment by the Cumans and Tatars of the steppe,but so perhapsalso shouldstudiesof medievalHungary. UCL SSEES Martyn Rady Hughes,Lindsey.TheRomanovs: Ruling Russia, i6ij-igiy. Continuum, London, 2008. xviii+ 308 pp. Familytrees.Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index.£20.00: $27.95. This bookisone ofthelasttwoprojects thatLindsey Hugheswasworking on immediately priortoheruntimely deathinApril2007.Havingalready written numerousinternationally recognizedworksdealingwithRomanov rulers, theirwives,families and favourites - in particular, her magisterial Russia in the AgeofPeter theGreat (New Haven, CT, 1998)- she was eminently well suitedto tacklea wideranalysisof the dynasty. As she notesin her Introduction (pp. 2-3),theRomanovsare notusuallygivenfullor equitable treatment, either in popularor scholarly accounts.Eitherthefocushas been primarily on thecbignames'(PeterI, CatherineII, AlexanderI or Nicholas II) orelsea ideologicalapproachistakentotheevents of1917instressing the 'doomed' natureofthedynasty. Instead,Hughespresents a 'studyofrulers and rulership' (p. 4), movingbeyonda straightforward biographical study of each rulerto examinethevarying methods, forms and symbols ofbeinga rulerofRussiaacrossthreecenturies. As itstitlesuggests, themainfocusofthebookis theruling family ofthe Russianempirefromtheiracquisition oftheroyaltitle, withtheelectionof Michaelin 1613during theaftermath ofthetraumatic TimesofTroubles,to their lossofpowerwiththeabdicationofNicholasII in 1917.The tenmain 758 SEER, 87, 4, OCTOBER 2OOg chapters ofthebookthenprovidestudies ofthevariousrulers inthe304-year history of the Romanov dynasty. The book ends witha welcomechapter devotedto the questionof the commemoration of the Romanovsin the Sovietand post-Soviet era. AlthoughHughes is bestknownas a specialiston the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and thematerial forthechapters on therulersin this periodis certainly handledexpertly, thisis not at theexpenseof thelater reigns,withthe nineteenth-century tsarsgivendetailedcoveragein three chaptersand the last two focusingon the fateful reignof Nicholas II. The paucity ofprimary sourceson a numberoftheserulers - CatherineI, PeterII and IvanVI, and thedynasty's founder, Michael- meansthatthey haveto be dealtwithbriefly here.Whilethisis hardly unusualin theoverall historiography, Hugheshas been careful to highlight recentworkson these reigns, largely written byRussianscholars, in herfootnotes. Unlikethe usual populisthistories of the Romanovs,the chronological r ,t • 1 11 , T TT 15 , a ' 1 iT . 1 structure 01 tnis dook aoes not limit nugnes s argument 'riseand fall'narrative oftheRussianruling family. Inst( a morenuancedpictureofthecontours ofpowerin E centuries ofRomanovrulebylocatingthevariousrule contexts and alsoinrelation toone another. Severalther to a siraignuorwara *ad,Hughespresents Lussiaoverthethree rsin boththeirown nesemerge from this wide-ranging approachto thedynasty whichserveto underpinthe overall analysisof the rulerspresented. Hughes identifies theirgeneraladherence to certainprinciples - the maintenanceof autocracy,the promotionof Orthodoxy and thelargely symbolic symbiotic relationship withtheRussian peoplewereall important factors in a ruler's success(and therefore survival). Morethanthat, thethemeofcontinuity isstressed throughout thebook,even whensetagainstthebackdropofa supposedbreakwiththepast,a theme usuallyassociatedwiththe reignof Peterthe Great (1689/96-1725). The legacyofhisreforms - thereorientation oftheRussianstateandtheRussian elitetowardEurope - was addressedby everysubsequentruler,and the celebration ofkeyPetrineanniversaries (thebattleofPoltava,forexample) becamea firm fixture in theImperialCourt'scalendar.An evocativeimage ofthedynasty's relationship withitsownhistory and identity is providedby a majoranniversary toward theendofitslife- theempire-wide celebrations in early1913forthetercentenary ofMichaelRomanov'saccessionas tsar. Overall,then,thisprovidesan accessibleand informative history of the Romanovsand thepolitical, socialand cultural context in whichtheyruled. Its styleand toneare characteristically engaging - as withHughes'smany other works, shedisplays a rareability tobalanceserious academicpoints with a choiceturn-of-phrase. cNoamountofrevisionism willturn"GermanAnna" [Ioannovna]intoan appealingpersonality' (p. 89) is a particular favourite of mine.The fullfootnotes and bibliography willprovideusefulpointersfor thescholarly readerand thereis also an effort toprovidereferences toworks in English forthecuriousnon-specialist topursuethesubjectfurther. Appropriately , theillustrations throughout thebookareexcellent, witha number of items from theauthor's owncollection. The publishers aretobe commended forthenumberand qualityofblack-and-white reproductions. This aspectof thebookwas aided bygenerous helpfrom Hughes'sfriends and colleagues, reviews 759 particularly following her passing,which reflects both a respectforher standing in thefieldand also a recognition ofherown generosity overthe yearsin giving adviceand support. The booktherefore standsas a testament to her courageand commitment in the face of greatadversity, but more importantly as a fitting tribute to her manystrengths as...