| Description |
xiii, 657 p. : ill., maps ; 25 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. [593]-624) and index. |
| Contents |
A Comparative Approach to the Problem of Origins of the Civil War -- Long-Term Origins: The Growth of Autocracy and Imperialism -- Ivan the Terrible and Russia's Slide into Crisis -- The Rise of Boris Godunov, the Uglich Tragedy, and Enserfment -- The Southern Frontier and the Cossacks -- The Beginning of the Time of Troubles and the Great Famine -- What Triggered the Civil War? -- The Pretender Dmitrii Ivanovich -- Dmitrii's Invasion and the Beginning of the Civil War -- Tsar Boris Strikes Back and the Civil War Widens -- The Death of Tsar Boris and Dmitrii's Triumph -- The Short Reign of Tsar Dmitrii -- Assassination of the Tsar -- Vasilii Shuiskii Seizes Power and Rekindles the Civil War -- The Beginning of the "Bolotnikov Rebellion" -- The Civil War Widens and the Rebels Advance to Moscow -- The Siege of Moscow -- Retreat from Moscow, the Siege of Kaluga, and the Rise of Tsarevich Petr -- Collapse of the Siege of Kaluga and the Beginning of Tsar Vasilii's Offensive -- The Siege of Tula and the Resurrection of "Tsar Dmitrii" -- Tsar Vasilii's Struggle Against the Tushino Impostor -- Foreign Intervention and the Formation of the National Liberation Movement -- The End of the Civil War and the Election of Mikhail Romanov -- Tsar Mikhail and the End of the Time of Troubles -- Disturbing Legacy. |
| Summary |
The Time of Troubles was a period of great upheaval in Russian history. It began when the ancient ruling dynasty died out in 1598 and Boris Godunov defeated rival boyars to become the tsar. For more than a decade thereafter, Russia was plagued by dynastic struggle, devastating famine, widespread uprisings, and invasion by Polish and Swedish armies. Russia's state crisis was so severe that it nearly destroyed the country. The Time of Troubles finally ended in 1613 with the establishment of the Romanovs as the ruling dynasty, but ever since then, it has occupied a unique place in Russia's collective memory. This book is the first major post-Marxist reassessment of the Time of Troubles and the first detailed study of that tragic era in English. Historians have long misinterpreted popular uprising during the Times of Troubles as the first social revolution of the Russian masses against serfdom. The author overturns this view and demonstrates that at the heart of the "Troubles" was a long and extremely violent civil war that divided Russian society vertically instead of horizontally. He shows that serfs did not actively participate in the civil war and that the abolition of serfdom was never a rebel goal. Instead, most rebels were petty gentry, professional soldiers, townsmen, and cossacks who were united in fierce opposition to tsars they believed to be illegitimate usurpers. Based upon exhaustive research, this book is a mix of social and military history, firmly placing the Time of Troubles in the context of the waves of wars and rebellions that swept through early modern Europe and Asia. -- from Book Jacket |
| Subject |
Russia -- History -- Time of Troubles, 1598-1613.
|
|
Russia. (OCoLC)fst01207312
|
| Chronological Term |
1598 - 1613
|
| Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
|
| ISBN |
0271020741 (alk. paper) |
|
9780271020747 (alk. paper) |
|
