Reform & Revolution: Late Imperial Russia & the Soviet Union

An introduction to modern Russia from the “great reforms” of the mid-19th century until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Topics to be covered include the emancipation of the serfs; late imperial society, politics, and culture; revolutionary movements; national minorities and nationalities policy in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union; the Russian Revolution and Civil War; Stalinism; World War II and the Holocaust on Soviet territory; the Cold War; de-Stalinization and the Thaw; the impact of Western culture on Soviet society; Soviet engagement with the Third World; Brezhnev and the era of stagnation; perestroika and the end of the Communist system. Students will be exposed to a wide variety of primary sources, including government documents, fiction, diaries, propaganda posters, and films. Applebaum