At The Edge Of Empire: The Terek Cossacks And The North Caucasus Frontier, 1700-1860 [Hardcover]

Thomas Barrett (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813336716 | ISBN-13: 978-0813336718 | Publication Date: June 3, 1999

At the Edge of Empire examines the history of the Cossack frontier settlements in the North Caucasus during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The specific focus is the Terek Cossacks, frontier settlers along the Terek river who became servants of the Russian state, warriors, and occasionally soldiers for (and deserters from) the Russian imperial armies. Barrett reconsiders Cossack history with an eye for its relation to the policies and reality of pre-Soviet Russian imperialism. The rich historiography of the American frontier informs this re-evaluation—the Cossack interaction with native peoples and the formation of a unique frontier society closely mirror the contemporary borderland settlements in the American West. But Barrett presents Russian colonization as a fluid mixing of cultures rather than a cut-and dried military conquest, as it has previously been presented in ideology-laden histories of the Soviet Union. This opens up new ways in which to consider the myths and perceptions of historic Russian nationalism and its relation to state formation and ethnic identity in the Caucasus and post-Soviet Russia today.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas M. Barrett is assistant professor of history at St. Mary’s college of Maryland. He has written numerous articles on the encounter between Russia and the North Caucasus and is presently writing a comparative history of the popular culture of the Russian and American frontiers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (June 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813336716
• ISBN-13: 978-0813336718
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,715,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Terek Cossacks, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: At The Edge Of Empire: The Terek Cossacks And The North Caucasus Frontier, 1700-1860 (Hardcover)

This book is very informative if you have not done any previous studies of this culture and these peoples. The information is portrayed in an easy to read format and will educate those persons interested in this topic. Could have been more complete if the history was carried through past the mid-19th centurty.