Russia and the Russians: A History [Paperback]

Geoffrey Hosking (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674011147 | ISBN-13: 978-0674011144 | Publication Date: May 30, 2003

From the Carpathians in the west to the Greater Khingan range in the east, a huge, flat expanse dominates the Eurasian continent. Here, over more than a thousand years, the history and destiny of Russia have unfolded. In a sweeping narrative, one of the English-speaking world's leading historians of Russia follows this story from the first emergence of the Slavs in the historical record in the sixth century C.E. to the Russians' persistent appearances in today's headlines. Hosking's is a monumental story of competing legacies, of an enormous power uneasily balanced between the ideas and realities of Asian empire, European culture, and Byzantine religion; of a constantly shifting identity, from Kievan Rus to Muscovy to Russian Empire to Soviet Union to Russian Federation, and of Tsars and leaders struggling to articulate that identity over the centuries.

With particular attention to non-Russian regions and ethnic groups and to Russia's relations with neighboring polities, Hosking lays out the links between political, economic, social, and cultural phenomena that have made Russia what it is--a world at once familiar and mysterious to Western observers. In a clear and engaging style, he conducts us through the Mongol invasions, the rise of autocracy, the reigns of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great, the battle against Napoleon, the emancipation of the serfs, the Crimean War, the Bolshevik Revolution, Stalin's reign of terror, the two World Wars, the end of the USSR, to today's war against Chechnya. Hosking's history is shot through with the understanding that becoming an empire has prevented Russia from becoming a nation and has perpetuated archaic personal forms of power. This book is the most penetrating and comprehensive account yet of what such a legacy has meant--to Russia, and to the world.

(20010415)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To demonstrate that Russia's recent political and socioeconomic problems do not mean that she "need no longer be taken seriously... as threat or as potential ally," Hosking ambitiously and diligently explores the nation's cycles of reform, censorship and expansion from A.D. 626 through the 2000 election of Prime Minister Putin. Hosking (The Awakening of the Soviet Union), professor of Russian history at the University of London, contends that resources stretched thin over a vast, disparate empire have prevented Russia from developing into a cohesive nation. A helpful introduction to Russia's topography and ecology, followed by chronological chapters such as "Kievan Rus, the Mongols, and the Rise of Muscovy" and "Soviet Society Takes Shape," with special attention to popular culture, academic trends and influential nonconformist thinkers, afford both survey and specifics. Some readers will find points of contention, as when Hosking reduces the profound impact of agricultural collectivization. For instance, he attributes the great Ukrainian famines of the 1930s, which many historians believe were purposefully exacerbated by the Soviet government, to "a dry summer" that yielded "an exceptionally poor grain harvest," without due analysis of other causes. Additionally, Hosking attributes the sharp increase of orphans during the 1930s primarily to civil war, collectivization and urbanization, noting, "clearly it was also linked to the legislative weakening of the family" (i.e., the legalization of abortion, civil marriage, divorce and equal property rights between men and women), without providing concrete evidence for this causality. But Hosking's immense knowledge and clear, concise analyses provide ample grist for university students and amateur historians. Illus., maps and tables not seen by PW.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Hosking (Russian history, Univ. of London) offers a comprehensive survey from the beginnings of Kievan Rus through Russia's recent independence, emphasizing the impact of relations between Russians and non-Russians. When Russia was "the largest empire on earth" in the mid-17th century, the imperial Rossiiskii and the ethnic Russkii held unresolved and conflicting ideals. No less fundamental were conflicts between Russia's peasant society and its industrialization, the "sacralizing of the monarchy," and the power of the Russian Orthodox Church. This cogent pre-Revolutionary interpretation nicely complements recent archival revelations from the Soviet era (e.g., census data showing that between 1939 and 1946 Russia's "global losses" amounted to some 47 million persons). Hosking claims that Gorbachev's "fundamental dilemma" was his dependence on implementing reforms of the very "patron-client network" he was hoping to replace. Although the author's earlier work, The First Socialist Society, is more focused, this book's strength lies in its revealing Russia's enduring continuities. The result compares favorably with some of the best Russian histories of recent decades while also consolidating new scholarship. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Zachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (May 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674011147
• ISBN-13: 978-0674011144
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An involved look at Russian history for popular readers, March 26, 2005

By 

J. Walker (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russia and the Russians: A History (Paperback)

I came to this book from a more scholarly standpoint, hoping to find an in-depth and insightful history of Russia. The book delivered well on my expectations but, in the end, I found myself enjoying it on a more popular level. Hosking's research and presentation are excellent, and he does a remarkable job of tying vast amounts of material together with concision and eloquence, but there is a lot of important information that has been left out.

Much that I would deem important had been omitted from his account, leaving rather perfunctory sections where the book feels 'glossed over' or generalized. Still, the lack of detail can be overlooked, especially because the book was clearly designed for a more popular audience. In this case, the details might have bogged down the momentum of the work.

It is this momentum--while still managing to craft a brilliant big-picture look at Russia--that makes Hosking's book shine. This is less a story of a handful of Tsars and more a story of Russia's people--their triumphs, failures, struggles, and lives. We trace Russia as a cultural and national identity through the ages, stopping to examine the influence and force of individual Tsars, but always focusing on what the people were doing.

Russia was not defined only by its Tsars. It was also defined by its people. This is a tale for them, and it is resonating and fascinating. Although it lacks the hard and fast research of other histories, relying more on generalizations and conclusions, Hosking tells his story well and has crafted perhaps the most human of all Russian histories.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bittersweet read, August 2, 2002

By 

Ray Farmer (Concord, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Russia and the Russians: A History (Hardcover)

Regardless of whether you are a scholarly or a casual reader, I would expect that you would find this book difficult to read all the same, albeit perhaps for different reasons. I approached "Russia and the Russians" as a casual reader, and thus I am writing my review from this perspective, in the hope that it may be of benefit to others.

In reading this sweeping history of Russia, I had hoped that the author would have been able to provide an overall "big picture" of how the Russian nation, and perhaps even the Russian character, developed. To his benefit, Hosking actually did begin his book along these lines by discussing Russia's unique geopolitical situation and some of her unique cultural traits. Although he may have tried to follow up on this by explaining how these various geopolitical and cultural issues affected how the Russian people responded to specific historical events at various points in the text, the lack of organization in Hosking's writing still made it quite difficult for me to appreciate how important the geopolitical, cultural, and economic forces were in shaping the course of Russian history.

When I say Hosking's writing lacked organization, I mean that he would at times jump from one discussion to another without any warning or that he would suddenly go back in time to discuss events that happened earlier than what he had previously been focusing on to begin with (again without any warning). Additionally, I thought most of the maps in the book did very little to support what was being discussed in the text (i.e. towns and rivers that were being mentioned in the text were not shown on the maps), which I found to be a nuisance. Although a number of reviewers have criticized this book for its liberal use of Russian words, I think Hosking is justified in this regard since he usually reserves such words to define uniquely Russian concepts. Although this book does not contain a glossary of Russian vocabulary, I found that the index was just as helpful in finding the page where a Russian word was initially defined.

Is "Russia and the Russians" worth reading? In hindsight, despite my mixed feelings, I still feel that my time reading this book was justified. Although there were some parts that were treacherous to read (primarily due to the dry and abstract presentation of the material), there were other parts that I found absolutely delightful (such as Hosking's discussion of cultural movements during the various historical periods).

Bottom line: If you're a serious Russophile, you may be able to overlook the book's shortcomings and still find this an enjoyable read, whereas if you're just looking for entertainment value, you will most likely not find it here.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best Russian history book available, July 5, 2003

By 

Bill (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russia and the Russians: A History (Paperback)

I may not have taken a course(s) on Russian history recently, but I believe I can tell a good book on Russian history when I read one. And this ain't one of them. Hosking's lack of organization, lack of scholarship in some chapters, and extremely tedious narrative style make this book uncomfortable to read. Some reviewers have suggested that since the history of Russia lacked direction during its course, this trait will inevitably be reflected in any attempt to analyze and chronicle the history of that country. The conclusion of this misguided speculation is that Russian history is difficult to narrate and we should therefore be happy reading what Mr. Hosking has produced for us. Although I agree that the history of Russia is indeed rich and complicated, nevertheless, one only has to look at all of the brilliant works that have been written on the subject in the past to see how well other historians have rendered this complex story in a clear and understandable manner. Examples include "Natasha's Dance" by Figes, "Russia under Western Eyes" by Mahlia, "Lenin's Tomb" by Remnick, and "A History of Russia" by Riasanovsky. I have yet to read a positive review on Hosking's "Russia and the Russians" that did not get mixed up by romanticizing the grandeur and the spectacle of Russian history, instead of focusing on the merits of the book. It makes me wonder whether those positive reviewers actually read the book.

I am no expert on Russian history or culture, although I do consider myself an admirer. Since there are so many outstanding books available on the market that deal with the subject of this unique and mysterious country, I regret spending the time that I did on this three-star wonder. If you are looking for a good first book on Russian history, I would strongly encourage you to look elsewhere.