Imperial Russia

        Welcome to Imperial Russia. Events in Russia have greatly awakened the public’s interest in Eastern Europe affairs, particularly in the former Soviet Union. The disintegration of Imperial Russia in 1917 posed serious problems for the European and world community, especially, because of the spread of world revolution in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Only by a thorough examination of Russia History can the disintegration of the Russian state, as seen in the Revolutions of 1917, be understood by students as well as the unfolding events in Central Asia that are occurring today before our very eyes. All of this is a direct result of the foolishness of the Old Order that ruled Russia in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.

            The objective of the course is to understand the importance of Imperial Russia. To do that, the class will begin its study of Imperial Russia with an overview of the rise of the Russian autocracy from Ivan the Terrible through Peter the Great in order to put Imperial Russia in the proper perspective. The class will also look at the impact of Catherine the Great and her successors as we attempt to see if the tsars could have altered events by 1917 to avoid the slide towards revolution and anarchy following the collapse of the Old Regime.            

        This site will direct students to assignments, grade requirements, bibliography, texts, Russian Rulers, and other information useful to those enrolled in the course.