Between Tsar and People: Educated Society and the Quest for Public Identity in Late Imperial Russia

By Samuel D. Kassow

Book Overview

This interdisciplinary collection of essays on the social and cultural life of late imperial Russia describes the struggle of new elites to take up a "middle position" in society--between tsar and people. During this period autonomous social and cultural institutions, pluralistic political life, and a dynamic economy all seemed to be emerging: Russia was experiencing a sense of social possibility akin to that which Gorbachev wishes to reanimate in the Soviet Union. But then, as now, diversity had as its price the potential for political disorder and social dissolution. Analyzing the attempt of educated Russians to forge new identities, this book reveals the social, cultural, and regional fragmentation of the times.

The contributors are Harley Balzer, John E. Bowlt, Joseph Bradley, William C. Brumfield, Edith W. Clowes, James M. Curtis, Ben Eklof, Gregory L. Freeze, Abbott Gleason, Samuel D. Kassow, Mary Louise Loe, Louise McReynolds, Sidney Monas, John O. Norman, Daniel T. Orlovsky, Thomas C. Owen, Alfred Rieber, Bernice G. Rosenthal, Christine Ruane, Charles E. Timberlake, William Wagner, and James L. West. Samuel D. Kassow has written a conclusion to the volume.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691008515
• ISBN13: 9780691008516
• Release Date: March 1991
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Great foundation to "start" understanding Russia today

Clowe, West and Kassow gather a collection of 22 essays that address from every conceivable angle the subject of Russian civil society, and civic identity-- aka "obshchestvo" and "obshchestvennost"-- all during the transitional period from imperial rule to the Russian Revolution. The volume looks through the lens of social history, work ethics, civic associations, professions, classes, and many more perspectives to create a definition of civil society (or "middle class" as Clowes, West and Kassow choose to identify it in the title.)For those of us attempting to make sense of what is occuring in Russia today, it is critical to take a long hard look at its past. And, that is just to start the road to understanding. I recommend this book to the hard-core Russophile or anyone wanting to build a historical literature review of Russia.