This book examines the rise and the fall of the Russian Empire through the lens of its military history. While much of the literature on this history tends to focus on epochs, The Russian Military and the Creation of Empire uses a variety of archival sources to capture this aspect of modern Russia from Peter the Great right up to the present day. John W. Steinberg analyzes the social dynamic between Russian society and its military over time. Through a focus on civil-military relations, he demonstrates that both the Tsarist and Soviet regimes were built on, and ultimately dependent upon, the support of the military. Case studies of significant battles are also used throughout the volume to reveal insights into the roles, missions, and capabilities of the Russian military since 1689. The Russian Military and the Creation of Empire is a vital study for all students of modern Russia and the history of modern warfare.

This book examines the rise and the fall of the Russian Empire through the lens of its military history. While much of the literature on this history tends to focus on epochs, The Russian Military and the Creation of Empire uses a variety of archival sources to capture this aspect of modern Russia from Peter the Great right up to the present day. John W. Steinberg analyzes the social dynamic between Russian society and its military over time. Through a focus on civil-military relations, he demonstrates that both the Tsarist and Soviet regimes were built on, and ultimately dependent upon, the support of the military. Case studies of significant battles are also used throughout the volume to reveal insights into the roles, missions, and capabilities of the Russian military since 1689. The Russian Military and the Creation of Empire is a vital study for all students of modern Russia and the history of modern warfare.

In 1711 Peter the Great, the Tsar of Russia, led a large army of veterans from Poltava and his other Great Northern War victories into the Balkans. He aimed to humble the Ottomans in the same way he had the Swedes a few years before. Victory would secure useful allies in the Balkans, cement Russia's 'Great Power' status and offer Peter the opportunity to finally gain control over the Swedish king, Charles XII, thus completing his victory over Sweden. Yet within a few months, the 'backward' Ottomans had forced the Tsar and his Tsarina and their army of veterans into a humbling surrender near the Pruth River. The war was the first time that Russia was strong enough to confront the Ottomans independently rather than as a member of an alliance. It marked an important stage in Russia's development. However, it also showed the significant military strength of the Ottoman Empire and the limitations of Peter the Great's achievements. The war was of significance to the allies of both the Russians and the Ottomans. It was of course of an even greater importance to all those directly affected by the war such as the Swedish, the Polish, and the Cossacks, who had taken refuge from the reverses of the Great Northern War in the Ottoman territory. It would also bring about the defeat of the Moldavian and Walachian ambitions to shake off the Ottoman overlordship, elevating Dimitrie Cantemir into the position of a national hero celebrated to this day by the people of Romania. The book looks at the causes of this little known war and its course. Using contemporary and modern sources it examines in detail the forces involved in the conflict, seeking to determine their size, actual composition, and tactics, offering the first realistic determination on the subject in English.

Focusing on the Tsarist and Soviet empires of Russia, Lieven reveals the nature and meaning of all empires throughout history. He examines factors that mold the shape of the empires, including geography and culture, and compares the Russian empires with other imperial states, from ancient China and Rome to the present-day United States. Illustrations.

This new and abridged edition of Scenarios of Power is a concise version of Richard Wortman's award-winning study of Russian monarchy from the seventeenth century until 1917. The author breaks new ground by showing how imperial ceremony and imagery were not simply displays of the majesty of the sovereign and his entourage, but also instruments central to the exercise of absolute power in a multinational empire. In developing this interpretation, Wortman presents vivid descriptions of coronations, funerals, parades, trips through the realm, and historical celebrations and reveals how these ceremonies were constructed or reconstructed to fit the political and cultural narratives in the lives and reigns of successive tsars. He describes the upbringing of the heirs as well as their roles in these narratives and relates their experiences to the persistence of absolute monarchy in Russia long after its demise in Europe.

An authoritative history of Russia from early Rus' to the reign of Peter the Great.

This is a new release of the original 1931 edition.