Tsar, The Empire, and The Nation: Dilemmas of Nationalization in Russia's Western Borderlands, 1905-1915

Format: Hardback
Length: 408 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2021
Publisher: Central European University Press

This collection of essays delves into the complex challenge posed by modern nationalism to the tsarist Russian Empire. Initially emerging on the empire's western periphery, this challenge was particularly pronounced in twelve provinces, spanning from the Ukrainian lands in the south to the Baltic provinces in the north, as well as the Kingdom of Poland. The central question at hand is whether the late Russian Empire entered World War I as a multiethnic state, with its age-old mechanisms governed by a multiethnic elite, or as a Russian state predominantly controlled by ethnic Russians. The tsarist vision, which prioritized loyalty among all subjects over privileging ethnic Russians and discriminating against non-Russians, encountered a fundamental flaw: as soon as opportunities arose, non-Russians would escalate their demands and become increasingly separatist. The authors of these essays discovered that, while the imperial government did not necessarily align itself with popular Russian nationalism, it occasionally adopted policies advocated by Russian nationalist proponents. The topics explored include native language education, interconfessional rivalry, the "Jewish question," the origins of mass tourism in the western provinces, and the emergence of Russian nationalist attitudes in the aftermath of the first Russian revolution.

Weight: 698g
Dimension: 162 x 237 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789633863657