Russia's First Civil War: The Time of Troubles and the Founding of the Romanov Dynasty [Hardcover]

Chester S. L. Dunning (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2001

The Time of Troubles was a period of great upheaval in Russian history. It began when the ancient ruling dynasty died out in 1598 and Boris Godunov defeated rival boyars to become the tsar. For more than a decade thereafter, Russia was plagued by dynastic struggle, devastating famine, widespread uprisings, and invasion by Polish and Swedish armies. The Time of Troubles finally ended in 1613 with the establishment of the Romanovs as the ruling dynasty. Russia's state crisis had been so severe that it nearly destroyed the country and seriously delayed its emergence as a great power. Ever since then the Time of Troubles has occupied a unique place in Russia's collective memory. Russia's First Civil War is the first major post-Marxist reassessment of the Time of Troubles and the first detailed study of that tragic era in English. Historians have long misinterpreted popular uprisings during the Times of Troubles as the first social revolution of the Russian masses against serfdom. Dunning overturns this view and demonstrates that at the heart of the "Troubles" was a long and extremely violent civil war that divided Russian society vertically instead of horizontally. He shows that serfs did not actively participate in the civil war and that the abolition of serfdom was never a rebel goal. Instead, most rebels were petty gentry, professional soldiers, townsmen, and cossacks who were united in fierce opposition to tsars they believed to be illegitimate usurpers. Based upon exhaustive research, Russia's First Civil War is a masterful mix of social and military history, firmly placing the Time of Troubles in the context of the waves of wars and rebellions that swept through early modern Europe and Asia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The is clearly the best and most judicious account of the Time of Troubles in any language. A magnificent achievement that will significantly benefit the reading world, especially those interested in Russia and comparative civil disorders. --Richard Hellie, University of Chicago

About the Author

Chester S. L. Dunning is Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University. He is editor and translator of The Russian Empire and Grand Duchy of Muscovy by Jacques Margeret (Pittsburgh, 1983).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 657 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (Txt); First Edition edition (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271020741
• ISBN-13: 978-0271020747
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,005,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good historical narrative of Russia's Time of Troubles, September 7, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Russia's First Civil War: The Time of Troubles and the Founding of the Romanov Dynasty (Hardcover)

The Time of Troubles designates that tumultuous period in early 17th century Russia that occurred after Tsar Fedor Ivanovich, the last member of the ruling dynasty, died without leaving a "God-chosen" heir to rule Russia. What followed was a series of bitter dynastic struggles that left the weakened country prone to invasion by Swedish and Polish armies. Indeed, the destruction and upheaval brought about by the Time of Troubles was so severe that Russia was very nearly destroyed.

In "Russia's First Civil War", Professor Dunning provides an analysis of the long-term origins of the Time of Troubles and follows this up with a rather detailed account of the various military conflicts that occurred during this seven year nightmare. In the final chapters, Dunning provides his view of the inglorious beginning of the Romanov dynasty, and concludes with his assessment of the legacy that the Time of Troubles left behind and its influence on the subsequent progression of Russian history.

Upon reading this book, it becomes clearly evident that Professor Dunning is on a crusade to disavow what he calls the "traditional interpretation" of the Time of Troubles as a period of social unrest and violent protest against serfdom. Dunning argues (with plenty of references) that the Time of Troubles was really a political crisis where the rebels who fought against the government were primarily interested in restoring the "God-chosen" Tsar Dmitrii to the throne, and not engaging in class warfare with the ruling elite.

I thought that Dunning's analysis into the underlying social, economic, and political causes of the Time of Troubles was truly the strong point of this book. By comparing Russia's situation to similar crises that occurred in the early history of other states, he clearly showed that the Time of Troubles was not an isolated event in history and was able to draw some interesting observations from this analysis. Furthermore, Dunning also has interesting things to say about the influence that this period exerted on the future development of the Russian state and society. The book also contains good maps that effectively support the material discussed in the text, and which become especially important in understanding the geography of military conflicts.

As for the book's weaknesses, I thought that Dunning's description of the military campaigns that occurred during the Time of Troubles was a bit too detailed and unpleasant to read. Since the Time of Troubles can be broken up into three (or maybe four) different phases of military conflict, it became rather difficult for me to follow the book at this point without everything becoming a blur of town names, dates, and the constant switching of alliances that seemed to occur among the boyars (aristocrats). Additionally, the narrative style was a bit rough and awkward at times, such that I felt I was reading a written transcript of a few of Professor Dunning's class lectures. Nevertheless, Dunning always managed to express his arguments clearly and engagingly enough such that a non-expert reader like me could follow along easily.

Although Russia's Time of Troubles may seem a rather esoteric subject to get into, "Russia's First Civil War" by Professor Dunning does a good job of shedding light on the history of 16th-17th century Russia. I think that Russophiles would definitely find this book interesting, and even general interest readers may find something worthwhile.