Customer Reviews

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

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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.