The Romanov Empire and Nationalism
Essays in the methodology of historical research
Alexei Miller is Professor of History
at the Central European University, Budapest .
Russian historiography has been focused on the central
state, to the power. The national historiographies of
the peoples that were once part of the empire, on the
other hand, concentrate on their own nation, and the
empire for them is only a burdensome context in which
a particular nation was “waking up,” and
fighting for independence.
Miller addresses the fabric of interaction between
the imperial authority and local communities in the
Romanov empire. How did the authorities structure the
space of the empire? What were the economic relations
between the borderlands and the center? How was the
use of different languages regulated? How did the central
authorities and local officials implement policies regarding
different population groups? How did the experience,
acquired in particular borderlands, influence the policies
elsewhere —among others—through officials
who often changed their place of service during their
careers? How did the local elites and communities react
to the policies of the imperial authorities? How did
they uphold their special interests if the empire encroached
on them, but also—how did they collaborate with
the empire and how did they use imperial resources for
local interests?
Contents
Introduction, Chapter
1. The History of the Russian Empire: in Search
of a Scale and a Paradigm; Chapter 2. Russification
or Russifications?; Chapter 3. Identity and
Loyalty in the Language Policy of the Romanov Empire
at Her Western Borderland: the Case of Script and Alphabet;
Chapter 4. The Romanov Empire and the Jews;
Chapter 5. “Official Nationality”?
A Reassessment of Count Sergei Uvarov’s Triad
in the Context of Nationalism Politics; Chapter
6. The Empire and the Nation in the Imagination
of Russian Nationalism; Chapter 7. The Testament
for the All-Russian Idea; Conclusion;
Select bibliography; Glossary; References;
Index
"A significant book that belongs on the shelf
of anyone working seriously on the history of late imperial
Russia. Throughout, the essays are of high quality,
well documented, and thought provoking." - The
Russian Review
"The chapters range broadly in their specific
focus, including essays on Russification, language policy,
Romanov policy toward Jews, Uvarov’s concepts and
practices of “official nationality,” mental
maps of Russian nationalism, and an analysis of police
memoranda on nationality questions during World War
I. Most of his arguments are highly original and provocative.
In short, all scholars of nationality and empire in
East Europe, Russia, and elsewhere will find much to
challenge them in this book." - Journal of Modern
History
"The primary contribution of the book is its methodological
critique of the existing historiography and its often
silent presuppositions. The attempt top shape a more
balanced image of the Russian empire and its interactions
with ethnic minorities is commendable, especially these
days, when history and politics are easily confused.
In this connection Miller's recommendation to use a
comparative approach that questions the prevalent image
of Russia as unique is specifically pertinent."
- Journal of Slavic Military Studies
"At the core of Miller's book is what he call
'the situational approach', which he constructs as an
alternative to both nationalist narratives - which typically
reduce complex relationships to a simplistic opposition
between imperial authority and local communities - and
a regional paradigm - which often marginalises the imperial
centre excessively and uncritically accepts the existence
of regions as natural geographic units. Miller's situational
approach compels the researcher to focus on a particular
historical process - a 'situation' - and to identify
on that basis the geographical scope of the problem,
the specific actors involved, and the comparisons that
will prove most illuminating... Miller strikes an admirable
balance between the imaginative dimensions of the historical
process (e.g. ideology and identity) and concrete policies
and material practices that shaped the lives of subjects
and statesmen in more direct ways." - European
Review of History
"Miller is undoubtedly one of the best known historians
who fundamentally changed our view of the Russian Empire
within the last ten years. Since the publication of
his book The Ukrainian
Question, Miller has intensively studied the rise
of nationalism in Russia during the nineteenth century.
He has also been engaged in methodological reflections
on how to write the history of a complex, heterogeneous
multiethnic and poly-confessional state. The seven essays
presented in this volume summarize much of Miller’s
insights. Miller states his point at the outset: in
the introduction, he calls for a close focus on the
interaction of actors, for research on the mutuality/
interrelatedness of various groups or individuals within
changing hierarchies of power of a concrete historical
settings. Miller calls this the 'situational approach'
and emphasizes that binary models that have shaped imperial
history for so long simplify the issue." - Cahiers
du monde russe
2008
250 pages
ISBN 978-963-9776-19-7 cloth $45.00 / €39.95 /
£35.00
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