A Concise History of Russia

Abstract

Accessible to students, tourists and general readers alike, this book provides a broad overview of Russian history since the ninth century. Paul Bushkovitch emphasizes the enormous changes in the understanding of Russian history resulting from the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, new material has come to light on the history of the Soviet era, providing new conceptions of Russia's pre-revolutionary past. The book traces not only the political history of Russia, but also developments in its literature, art and science. Bushkovitch describes well-known cultural figures, such as Chekhov, Tolstoy and Mendeleev, in their institutional and historical contexts. Though the 1917 revolution, the resulting Soviet system and the Cold War were a crucial part of Russian and world history, Bushkovitch presents earlier developments as more than just a prelude to Bolshevik power.

The Divergent Postcommunist Paths to Democracy and Economic Freedom

“…The Russian Empire existed from the 16th century until its overthrow by the February Revolution in 1917 (Bushkovitch 2011). In its heyday, its borders encompassed 14 present-day countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.…”

“…Coding is binary, with 1 indicating the empire to which the country belongs, and 0 given for the remaining two. Becker et al (2016); Bushkovitch (2011); Shaw (1976) Presidential powers An index, from 0 to 27, of presidential powers inscribed in the constitution as of 1995, with higher values corresponding to stronger presidential powers These powers include veto power, nominating power, decree powers, and powers of legislative initiative. Directly elected presidents are considered more powerful.…”

Long-Term Dynamics of Ruling Structures in the West, China, and Russia

“…The history of Russia shows a slightly different pattern than Western Europe (Bushkovitch 2011;Channon and Hudson 1996;Gilbert 2007). The starting time is again at about the beginning of the 6 th century (500) when the second phase of the migration began after the Attila the Hun died and the Huns retreated towards the East.…”

The BRICS countries and the Russia-Ukraine conflict

“…Ever since Ukraine's independence, its existence has been intrinsically linked to a dependent relationship with Russia, especially in terms of security transactions with Russian state companies; new investments in the energy sector; restrictions to the importing of coal, wood, cement and other Russian products; restrictions to Russian ships in European ports; the banning of Russian oil imports; the banning of three Russian banks and one Belarussian bank from the SWIFT system (Comissão Europeia 2022). (Bushkovitch 2020). This situation was more extreme during the Soviet period, when the level of tolerance in relation to "Ukrainization" varied in accordance with the Russian perception of whether nationalist groups signified a threat to the integrity of the Soviet bloc.…”

“…Even though the Russian military invasion of Ukrainian territory began at the end of February 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has had many previous episodes, making it possible to return to 2014 and the context of Euromaidan or even the 1990s, when Ukraine declared its independence (Bushkovitch 2020). Even though many emphasize the ethnic, linguistic, historical and cultural proximity of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples, which have been described as "brother peoples" (Russia 2021), their relations over time have been characterized by cooperation as well as conflict (Reid 2022).…”