The Russian moment in world history
By: Marshall T. Poe.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2003
Place of publication: Princeton, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 116
Subjects: Russia -- History -- Philosophy; Soviet Union -- History -- Philosophy; Russia (Federation) -- History -- Philosophy
Description: "Tracing Russia's course from its beginnings to the present day, Poe shows that Russia was the only non-Western power to defend itself against Western imperialism for centuries. It did so by building a powerful state that molded society to its military needs. Thus arose the only non-Western path to modern society - a unique path neither "European" nor "Asian" but, most aptly, "Russian."" "From the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Russia prevailed despite unparalleled onslaughts by powerful Western armies. However, while Europe nurtured limited government, capitalism, and scientific and cultural revolution, early Russian society cultivated autocracy and command economics. Both Europe and Russia eventually created modern infrastructures, but the European model proved more productive and powerful. The post-World War I communist era can be seen as a natural continuation of Russia's autocratic past that, despite its tragic turns, kept Russia globally competitive for decades." "The Russian moment in world history thus began with its first confrontations with Europe in the fifteenth century and ended in 1991 with the Soviet collapse."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [111]-114) and index.
Table of contents: title: What Russia is and what it is not; title: From Slavs to Rus'; title: From Rus' to Russia; title: The challenge of early modernity; title: The origins of the Russian moment; title: The progress of the Russian moment; title: From early modernity to modernity; title: The end of the Russian moment; title: Coda : what might have been.