1837

Description

1837 was a critical moment in Russia's history. The year's noteworthy occurrences extend from the realms of culture, religion, and ideas to those of empire, politics, and industry. This book argues that the 1830s in Russia were a period of dynamism and culture, and that 1837 was pivotal for the country's entry into the modern age.

• 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

About the Author(s)

Paul W. Werth, Professor, Department of History, University of Nevada

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.

Table of Contents

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

Reviews

"Paul Werth makes a compelling argument...In a series of concise and well-written sketches, he demonstrates the breadth and depth of his familiarity with the secondary literature and his great skill at integrating these in a thoughtful, proactive manner." - ABBY M. SCHRADER, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, English Historical Review

"...succeeds in showing both how the year's disparate events were connected and how, in their totality, they represent a milestone in Russian history... 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"... [a] provocative book." - 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." - 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." - 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

"[T]he book displays the author's dazzling erudition in various areas of Russian history.... [A]n important, original, and bold study that enriches our understanding of nineteenth-century Russian history and culture.... Werth manages to maintain a fine balance between scholarly rigor and riveting story telling, making his study attractive to a variety of audiences.... This rich and thought-provoking study will certainly not disappoint its readers. " - Valeria Sobol, University of Illinois, Ab Imperio