Book Review

Comparative/World

This, the third volume of Blair A. Ruble's trilogy of Russian and Soviet urban studies, shows the same theoretical innovation as the two that preceded it. Conceptually influenced by sociologist Lewis Mumford, who was among the first to analyze "urbanism as a way of life," the book borrows from the turn-of-the-century moniker for Mumford's laboratory, Chicago, so called to distinguish it from New York. Ruble uses the Windy City as a counterpoint to Moscow in this era; in addition, he adds the Japanese city of Osaka into what turns out to be a comparative study of three cities caught in the maelstrom of industrialization and in-migration at the end of the nineteenth century. The Russianist in Ruble raises questions about "Russian exceptionalism," but the urban historian takes over to tell three fascinating tales of city officials trying to negotiate between national governments and local populations to manage the upheavals and provide services for the changing needs of myriad groups from bankers to beggars. These three cities were selected because of commonalities of experience, shared by the role each played in connecting national to international economies, especially as centers for processing basics, foodstuffs, and textiles. Each was a commercial center, distanced from the national capital and hence able to build its own political network, or machine, in the case of Chicago. Similarities include in-migration of racial groups unpopular with the majorities, such as African Americans to Chicago and Koreans to Osaka. Differences include a Moscow public highly supportive of mass education, contrasted to Chicagoans who distrusted such policies.

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