1837

Russia's Quiet Revolution

Paul Werth

Combines diverse topics and historical actors in uncommon ways to produce a rich and vivid portrait of Russia at this critical moment
Offers a new way to think about the origins of modern Russia focusing on a time that most associate with conservative stasis
Introduces a diverse and complex issues in concise, sometimes humorous, and highly accessible prose

1837

Russia's Quiet Revolution

Paul Werth

Description

Historians often think of Russia before the 1860s in terms of conservative stasis, when the "gendarme of Europe" secured order beyond the country's borders and entrenched the autocratic system at home. This book offers a profoundly different vision of Russia under Nicholas I. Drawing on an extensive array of sources, it reveals that many of modern Russia's most distinctive and outstanding features can be traced back to an inconspicuous but exceptional year. Russia became what it did, in no small measure, because of 1837.

The catalogue of the year's noteworthy occurrences extends from the realms of culture, religion, and ideas to those of empire, politics, and industry. Exploring these diverse issues and connecting seemingly divergent historical actors, Paul W. Werth reveals that the 1830s in Russia were a period of striking dynamism and consequence, and that 1837 was pivotal for the country's entry into the modern age. From the romantic death of Russia's greatest poet Alexander Pushkin in January to a colossal fire at the Winter Palace in December, Russia experienced much that was astonishing in 1837: the railway and provincial press appeared, Russian opera made its debut, Orthodoxy pushed westward, the first Romanov visited Siberia-and much else besides. The cumulative effect was profound. The country's integration accelerated, and a Russian nation began to emerge, embodied in new institutions and practices, within the larger empire. The result was a quiet revolution, after which Russia would never be the same.

1837

Russia's Quiet Revolution

Paul Werth

Introduction
1. He Fell, Slandered by Rumor
2. A Life for the Tsar, an Opera for the Nation
3. Philosophical Madness
4. In the Flesh
5. Provinces Animated
6. Guardians of the Benighted
7. Think More About Camels
8. Orthodoxy Marches West
9. A Unicorn, Violent but Submissive
10. Northern Phoenix
Conclusion

1837

Russia's Quiet Revolution

Paul Werth

Author Information

Paul Werth, Professor, Department of History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Paul Werth is Professor in the Department of History at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has held research fellowships in the US, Germany, and Japan, and in 2010-15 he was an editor of the journal Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History. His previous research focused on the problems of religion and empire in Russian History, and in 2014 he published The Tsar's Foreign Faiths: Toleration and the Fate of Religious Freedom in Imperial Russia with OUP. Earlier research convinced him of the importance for Russian history of the 1830s-and 1837, in particular.

1837

Russia's Quiet Revolution

Paul Werth

Reviews and Awards

"This is a fascinating and highly readable book." -- Alexander M. Martin, Canadian-American Slavic Studies

"With admirable concision and insight, Werth investigates eight novelties of the 1830s across the worlds of culture, politics, religion and industry. Taken together, he suggests, these changes add up to "Russia's quiet revolution"." -- Douglas Smith, Times Literary Supplement

"Werth combines solid historical research with a lively and occasionally playful style that makes his book an entertaining read." -- Maria Lipman, Foreign Affairs

"Reflecting the accumulated wisdom of decades of historical research and writing, this highly readable history reimagines Imperial Russian history in a new and creative way. While focusing on a particular year, it is broad in its coverage, providing a superb introduction to the nineteenth century Russian Empire for experts, students and non-experts alike." -- Dr. Andrew Jenks, Professor of History, California State University, Long Beach

"This book on the year that heralded Russia's entry into the modern age covers an astonishing breadth of fascinating subjects and is pure pleasure to read." -- Dr Laurie Manchester, author of Holy Fathers, Secular Sons: Clergy, Intelligentsia and the Modern Self in Revolutionary Russia

"With a winning combination of deep erudition and wry humour, Paul Werth takes us on a vivid and compelling tour of the year 1837. His book makes any number of unexpected and illuminating connections. It will surely do much to shift our perspective on this historical moment, and on modern Russian history as a whole." -- Stephen Lovell, King's College London

1837

Russia's Quiet Revolution

Paul Werth

From Our Blog

To know Russia, you really have to understand 1837

To know Russia, you really have to understand 1837. The assertion might seem strange. Even among historians of Russia, it is likely to produce head-scratching rather than nods of knowing approval. Most would point to other years'1613 and the birth of the Romanov dynasty; 1861 and the end of Russian serfdom; 1917 and the Bolshevik seizure of power'as more consequential. But in fact 1837 was pivotal for the country's entry into the modern age and for defining many of Russia's core attributes. Russia is what it is today, in no small measure, because of 1837.

Posted on March 20, 2021

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