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Book Review
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Poe, Marshall T. The Russian Moment in World History (Princeton University
Press, 2003). 116 pp, $17.95.
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In world history, Russia has played a unique
part as a non-conformist state that defies traditional classification as
a European/Western or Asian/Eastern unit of political organization.
Marshall Poe, a Russian historian who currently writes for the Atlantic
Monthly, argues that Russia was the only state in Western Eurasia to
defend itself from Western European imperialism and Western European-styled
modernity because of its unique geographic, political, cultural, and economic
circumstances. Poe questions a common assumption that the Russian
historical experience was deterministic: that is, that the Russians
were somehow genetically or culturally resistant to westernization a
priori. This book also situates Russia's role within world history
as a state that was impacted by "outside" events and historical actors,
but maintained a unique position as neither truly "Western" nor truly "Eastern." |
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The Russian sonderweg (unique path)
to modernity was a "result of myriad accidental and contingent events, none
of which could have been predicted." (xiii) Russian modernity
was achieved independently rather than through direct coercion from nations
to the west. The Orthodox Church's censorship and labeling of European
ideas as heretical was central to the development of this Russian resistance
to Western ideas. Fear of European invasions also contributed to the
establishment and sustainability of autocratic political rule. The
Russian autocracy organized a highly effective military defensive structure
which further facilitated Russia's unique path to modernity. |
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This brief yet thorough treatment of Russian
history is organized into nine chapters. In the first chapter Poe
argues that Russia does not‹and should not‹fit into categories or labels
as a "European" or "Asian" society. The second through eighth chapters
detail the chronological story of Russia from the first migrations of Slavic
peoples out of Central Europe in the sixth century to the conclusion of
the "Russian Moment" in 1991. Along the way, Poe identifies key turning
points at which the Russians made decisions that usually tended to benefit
Russia's progression down its own unique, albeit successful, path to modernity.
The final chapter, titled "Coda: What Might Have Been," does not add much
to an otherwise very well-argued book. In this last chapter Poe discusses
possibilities for alternate outcomes of Russian history and plays the game
of historical "what if." A bibliographic essay at the end of the book
provides further reading suggestions for those interested in learning more
about specific topics of Russian history. Poe also includes a brief
chronology of major events in Russian history, organized by early, middle,
and late parts of centuries, to help the reader more easily navigate the
narrative. The book is commendable for both its brevity (making it
useful for assigning to undergraduates) and its successful summarizing of
Russian history within a still complex framework. |
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Although this book tackles some rather daunting
philosophical and historical issues, it is also quite accessible and would
be useful for teaching in a number of ways. At the beginning
of each chapter, a paragraph or two is devoted to wider philosophical issues
involved in the study of history, such as the post hoc, ergo propter
hoc fallacy that often finds its way into some historians' arguments.
Poe weaves these larger historical issues into the Russian historical narrative.
Poe's linking of general historical/philosophical principles with Russian
historical events makes for potentially valuable discussion material.
The maps are beneficial for situating Russia into a global context by showing
key points of historical and cultural interactions, including the paths
of the Slavic migrations, the Mongol invasions, and the path of major European
attacks on Russia since premodern times |
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Poe's book would work well as a supplementary
reading book for world history university/college surveys (particularly
those that deal with the post-1500 world) or in AP high school world history
courses. Russian Moment would ideally fit into courses in which
the instructor wants to emphasize issues of modernity. The Russian
case could be contrasted with other societies that made the transition to
modernity in other ways such as China, Japan, or the Western European nation-states.
The book is also well-suited for upper-level undergraduate courses in Russian
History. Poe's work makes a fine addition to both Russian and world
historical scholarship, particularly for its ambitious attempts to summarize
such a vast subject matter while still managing to maintain easily-followed
and succinctly-proven points. |
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Discussion/Essay Ideas
1) Discuss the concept of the Russian sonderweg
as defined by Poe. At what points in the chronology of Russian
history did the Russian autocracy or the Orthodox Church act to deter
Russia from following a more traditional path to modernity?
2) Poe makes the claim on page 47 that Russia "was
the only extra-European empire to remain a powerful, independent world-historical
state throughout the early modern period." What reasons does he
provide for this? In what ways were other early modern societies
(such as the Incas, Aztecs, Ottomans, Safavids, Moguls, and Qing) less
able to withstand the western European onslaught?
3) The author maintains in his conclusion that the
process of modernity in Russia eventually brought a degree of prosperity
to those within the Russian empire. This was "a vast improvement
over premodern life." (90) Do you agree or disagree with Poe's conclusion,
both on the concept of modernity itself, and in particular with regard
to the uniquely Russian experience with this process?
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Scott Bailey
University of Hawaii at Manoa
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