Hıristiyanlık, Aydınlanma ve Kolonyalizm: Rusya, Kuzey Kafkasya’da, 1550-1800

Kuzey Kafkasya’nın 1820’lerdeki askeri fethinden önce bölgedeki Rus kolonileştirme anlayışına makul bir şüpheyle yaklaşılabilir. Aslında, Rusya’nın emperyal genişlemesi ile kolonyal deneyimi, odağı belli ve yeniden değerlendirme çalışmalarının nesnesi olacak ve kapsamlı kolonyal çalışmalara dâhil edilecek kadar hızla meydana gelmedi. Daha erken tarihli kaynakların yetersizliği ve sonraki yüzyılların, bugünkü durumla daha kapsamlı bir ilgisi olduğuna dair doğrulanması her zaman mümkün olmayan bir varsayım nedeniyle, erken Rusya İmparatorluğu’nu ilgilendiren konular, Rus emperyalizmiyle ilgili 19. ve 20. yüzyıllarda yapılan daha büyük çalışmalarda sınıflandırıldı

Twin Imperial Disasters. The invasions of Khiva and Afghanistan in the Russian and British official mind, 1839–1842

This paper examines two linked cases of abortive Imperial expansion. The British invasion of Afghanistan and the Russian winter expedition to Khiva both took place in 1839, and both ended in disaster. These events were linked, not merely by coincidence, but by mutual reactions to intelligence received in Orenburg, St Petersburg, Calcutta, London, and Tehran. British and Russian officials shared similar fears about each other's ambitions in Central Asia, similar patterns of prejudice, arrogance and ignorance, and a similar sense of entitlement as the self-conscious agents of two ‘Great Powers’. By examining the decision-making process which preceded these twin cases of expansion, and the British and Russian attitudes to Central Asian rulers and informants, the paper provides not only a deeper understanding of what provoked these particular disasters, but also of the wider process of European imperial expansion in the early nineteenth century

Standard of civilization, nomadism and territoriality in nineteenth-century international society

In this chapter, the encounter between the Russian Empire and the nomads of the Eurasian steppe in the nineteenth century is analyzed using the theoretical framework of the standard of civilization. The creation of the Westphalian state-model in Europe in the seventeenth century, linked to the later emergence of the notion of the standard of civilization led to the ‘othering’ of the nomads of the Eurasian steppe as barbarians, as a threat to the borders of civilized Europe. The chapter presents also an argument to define ‘territoriality’ as not only an institution of international society of the time but also as a distinctive quality and requirement for being considered ‘civilized’. In this analytical framework, the nomads become the ‘other’, the ‘alien’, the ‘menace’, onto which projections of rationality and modernity were cast in order to prevent threats to Russia’s European and civilized identity. The chapter sheds light on the encounter between ‘fixed’ and ‘mobile’ units in the course of expansion of international society; contextualizes the role played by nomadic tribes in resisting the application of Westphalian spatial categories in the Eurasian space; and scrutinizes what the role of nomads was in constructing a European, civilized identity.PostprintPeer reviewe

Russia\u27s 20th Century: A Journey in 100 Histories

Michael Khodarkovsky\u27s innovative exploration of Russia\u27s 20th century, through 100 carefully selected vignettes that span the century, offers a fascinating prism through which to view Russian history. Each chosen microhistory focuses on one particular event or individual that allows you to understand Russia not in abstract terms but in real events in the lives of ordinary people. Russia\u27s 20th Century covers a broad range of topics, including the economy, culture, politics, ideology, law and society. This introduction provides a vital background and engaging analysis of Russia\u27s path through a turbulent 20th century.https://ecommons.luc.edu/facultybooks/1223/thumbnail.jp