LOMONOSOV MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND AREA STUDIES
Elena S. Volkova, Ph.D
Russian History: an overview from antiquity to the present
This lecture course is designed to introduce students to the political, economic, social and cultural history
of Russia. It covers the history from its origins to the present, emphasizing the development of political
and social institutions and Russia’s unique position between Europe and Asia.
Structure of the Course
(40 academic hours)
Week 1
1.1 Introductory lecture. Overview of the course, its structure, its requirements. Periodization of
Russian History.
1.2 Ancient Rus’ (IX-XIII centuries). The origins of the Russian state (geography, population,
genesis theories). Early Slavs and the formation of Kievan Rus’. Period of political
disintegration. The Mongol invasion (1237-1240).
1.3 Ancient Rus’ (XIII-XIV centuries). The Rus Principalities under Mongol Domination. The
invasion of German and Swedish Nights. Struggle of Russian lands against Sweden and
Livonian Battle on the Ice. Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263).
Week 2
2.1 The emergence and rising of Muscovy. Dmitri Donskoyi and the battle of Kulikovo field.
2.2 Ancient Rus’ (XV-XVI centuries). Gathering of Russian lands. Ivan III and Basil III. Reign
of Ivan IV (1530-1584). Domestic reforms and foreign policy. Oprichnina.
2.3 Culture and religion in Ancient Rus’. “The Golden Ring of Russia”. Russian Orthodox
Church. The Ceremony of Coronation. The Domostroy. Art, handicraft and “popular culture”.
Week 3
3.1 Boris Godunov and The Time of Troubles (1605-1613). Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish
intervention. The origins of the New Dynasty. Alexey Mikhailovich (1645-1676). Struggle
against Poland. Ukraine’s reunion with Russia. Wars with Turkey and Sweden.
3.2 Russian state at the end of the XVII – at the first quarter of the XVIII centuries. Russian
Tsardom (1676 – 1721). The Reforms of Peter the Great. The Empire of Russia (1721-1725).
3.3 The Epoch of Palace Overturns (1725-1762). “Women on the throne” (Catherine I. Anna
Ioanovna, Elizabeth I)
Week 4
4.1 Enlightened absolutism of Catherine the Great. Main reforms. Development of Russian
culture and science. M.V. Lomonosov and Moscow University. Russian-Turkish wars. Partitions
of Poland.
4.2 Russian America
4.3 Reign of Paul I (1796-1801). Reverse of Catherine’s policy. Decree of succession.
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Week 5
5.1 The Russian Empire at the first half of the XIX century. Alexander I (1801-1825). Nicholas I
(1825-1855). Main reforms. The Decembrist Rebellion. The Crimean War (1853-1856).
5.2 The First Patriotic War of 1812.
5.3 The Russian Culture of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Week 6
6.1 Reforms of Alexander II (1855-1881). The period of Great Reforms. The emancipation of
serfs. Glasnost’.
6.2 Counter-reforms of Alexander III (1881-1894). Reactionary period.
6.3 The Caucasus and Central Asia in XIX century.
Week 7
7.1 The Russian Empire at the end of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX century. The
reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917). Revolution of 1905. Stolipin reform 1906. The Russian Empire
and the WWI. The reasons for abdication.
7.2 The Russian Revolution (1917). The role of Bolsheviks. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
7.3 The Soviet Russia (1917-1922). The Civil War. The Creation of the USSR. The Soviet Union
in 1920s. Leninism.
Week 8
8.1 The Soviet Union (1924-1953). The political struggle. The Soviet Union in 1930s. “Socialism
in one country”. Collectivization and Industrialization.
8.2 Stalin and Stalinism. The cult of personality. Totalitarianism. Red Terror and Great Purge.
8.3 The Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941 – May 9, 1945)
Week 9
9.1 The Soviet Union after Stalin. De-Stalinization and the Khrushchev Thaw (Ottepel).
Domestic policy: “liberal” reforms and agricultural policy. Soviet Space Program. Foreign
policy: Cuban Missile Crisis.
9.2 The Era of Stagnation. The Brezhnev Era (1964-1982). Domestic and Foreign Policies. The
Olympic games in Moscow, 1980. “Getontocracy” of Y. Andropov and C. Chernenko (19821985).
9.3 Perestroyka and Glasnost’. Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991). The New Thinking. End of the
Cold War. Revolutions of 1989 (lost Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe). Reunification of
Germany.
Week 10
10.1 The New Russia. The presidency of B. Eltsin, V. Putin and D. Medvedev.
10.2 Final Exam
Requirements
The students are expected to attend and read assigned texts. Readings will be assigned for completion
before each meeting. The course will consist of lectures and discussions, not necessarily strictly
segregated.
Assessment
Assessment will consist of three elements:
1. Participation (30%)
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2. Historical essay (40%)
3. Oral exam (30%)
FINAL EXAM
Part I
Historical Essay (7-10 pages)
Part II
Oral exam (short conversation on one of the major periods of Russian history);
Topics for the final essay1
1. The origins of the Russian State. The Norman theory: a question of political and cultural
influence.
2. Kievan Rus’ (862-1237/40).
3. The Mongol invasion (1237-1240). The Rus Principalities under Mongol Domination.
4. The emergence and rising of Muscovy. The role of Yuri Dolgorukiy (c.1099 -1157) and
Dmitry Donskoy (1350-1389).
5. The Tsardom of Russia: The reign of Ivan IV the Terrible (1530-1584).
6. The origins of the New Dynasty. Alexey Mikhailovich (1645-1676).
7. The emergence of the Russian Empire. The reforms of Peter the Great (1682-1725) .
8.
Serfdom in Russia (the origins, development and the process of abolition)
9. “Women on the throne”: The Epoch of Palace Overturns (1725-1762).
10. The Russian Empire at the end of the XVIII century. Catherine the Great and her role in
Russian history.
11. The role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the history and culture of Ancient Rus’ and
Imperial Russia.
12. The Russian Empire at the first quarter of the XIX century. Alexander I (1801-1825) and
The First Patriotic War of 1812.
13. Nicholas I (1825-1855): The first crisis of the Empire.
14. The Russian Empire at the second half of the XIX century. Reforms and Counter-reforms.
15. Nicholas II: Crisis of the Old Order.
16. Revolution and Civil War.
17. NEP and Collectivization.
18. Stalin and Stalinism. The Great Patriotic War (22.06.1941- 09.05.1945).
19. “Khrushchev’s Ottepel’”: The Soviet Union in the 1950s-1960s.
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One topic is to be chosen for the detailed thorough research.
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20. The Brezhnev Years and the period of Stagnation.
21. Mikhail Gorbachev. The time for changes: from reform to disintegration.
22. “The Roaring Nineties”: Crisis and Reform.
23. The domestic and foreign policy of Russia at the end of the XX and the beginning of the
XXI centuries.
Recommended literature
Barlett R. A History of Russia. N.Y., 2005
Black L.T. Russians in Alaska, 1732-1867. Alaska, 2004.
Cohen W.I. The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations. 4 vols. Cambridge, 1993.
Vol. IV
Figes O. Natasha’s Dance. N.Y., 2002
Forsyth J.A. A History of the Peoples of Siberia. Cambridge, 1992
Kovalevsky M. Russian Political Institutions. Chicago, 1902
Major Problems in History of Imperial Russia / Ed. by J. Cracraft. Lexington (Mass.), 1994
McFaul M., Marcov S. The troubled birth of Russian democracy: parties, personalities and
programs. Hover Institution State Publication, 1993
Stone D.R. A Military History of Russia. From Ivan the Terrible to the War in Chechnya.
Westport (Conn.), 2006
The Cambridge History of Russia. 3 vols. Cambridge, 2006.
The Empire of the Tsars / Ed. by E. Heresch. 1992
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