Synopses & Reviews
Review
“A volume that not only illustrates the nature and limits of English interest in Russia during the sixteenth century but which illuminates many important facets of Muscovite life.”—C. Bickford O’Brien, Russian Review
Review
“With informative introductory pages, a useful glossary of Russian terms and an index, Rude and Barbarous Kingdom is a very worthwhile addition to the growing body of material in English on Muscovite Russia.”—Canadian Slavonic Papers
Review
“Rude and Barbarous Kingdom is a good edition of valuable sources: a selection of the most important writings on Muscovy by Englishmen who came as traders and diplomats following the discovery of the White Sea route by Richard Chancellor in 1553 and the establishment of the Russia Company a year later.”—Slavic Review
Review
“This modernized and annotated edition of the graphic accounts of six English travelers—Richard Chancellor, Anthony Jenkinson, Thomas Randolph, George Turberville, Giles Fletcher, and Jerome Horsey—to Muscovite Russia between 1553 and 1600 is a most welcome compilation.”—Virginia Quarterly Review
Review
andldquo;Elusive Empire is the story of the colonial project and expansion down the multiethnic Volga, which made Russia a permanent great power. With attention to all parties involved, and based on massive, fresh archival research, Matthew Romaniello provides a surprising and exciting tableau and account.andrdquo;andmdash;David M. Goldfrank, Georgetown University
Review
andldquo;On the basis of impressive archival research, this book sets out a remarkable analysis of the policies, institutions, and modes of rule practiced in the newly conquered territories, thus providing a welcome view into how imperial rule took shape on the ground.andrdquo;andmdash;Valerie A. Kivelson, author of Cartographies of Tsardom:and#160;The Land and Its Meanings in Seventeenth-Century Russia
Review
andldquo;A thorough and painstaking discussion of the period in which the Russian Empireandmdash;and its Eurasian natureandmdash;was established.andrdquo;andmdash;Peter Gordon, The Asian Review of Books
Review
andldquo;
Elusive Empire is a thoroughly researched, sophisticated analysis of the way in which the Russian Empire took shape in Kazan.andrdquo;andmdash;
The Russian ReviewReview
andldquo;The text is enlivened by numerous vivid vignettes and significantly enhanced by the illustrations, tables, and especially maps. . . . This is an outstanding book.andrdquo;andmdash;
The Slavic ReviewReview
andldquo;Matthew Romanielloandrsquo;s interesting book . . . is coherent, well grounded in the sources, and persuasive. His
Elusive Empire is a real achievement casting a new light on the periphery of the expanding early modern Russian state.andrdquo;
andmdash;Cahiers du Monde RusseSynopsis
Lloyd E. Berry and Robert O. Crummey offer edited accounts of six English voyagers and their experiences in Muscovy Russia between 1553 and 1600. With modernized spelling and presentation, these accounts are accompanied by a glossary of Russian terms, introductions of their authors, and annotations that help put the travelers’ narratives into perspective.
Synopsis
In 1552, Muscovite Russia conquered the city of Kazan on the Volga River. It was the first Orthodox Christian victory against Islam since the fall of Constantinople, a turning point that, over the next four years, would complete Moscowandrsquo;s control over the river. This conquest provided a direct trade route with the Middle East and would transform Muscovy into a global power. As Matthew Romaniello shows, however, learning to manage the conquered lands and peoples would take decades.
and#160;and#160;and#160; Russia did not succeed in empire-building because of its strength, leadership, or even the weakness of its neighbors, Romaniello contends; it succeeded by managing its failures. Faced with the difficulty of assimilating culturally and religiously alien peoples across thousands of miles, the Russian state was forced to compromise in ways that, for a time, permitted local elites of diverse backgrounds to share in governance and to preserve a measure of autonomy. Conscious manipulation of political and religious language proved more vital than sheer military might. For early modern Russia, empire was still elusiveandmdash;an aspiration to political, economic, and military control challenged by continuing resistance, mismanagement, and tenuous influence over vast expanses of territory.
About the Author
Lloyd E. Berry was editor of The English Works of Giles Fletcher, the Elder and of John Stubb’s “Gaping Gulf” with Letters and Other Relevant Documents; he also compiled A Bibliography of Studies in Metaphysical Poetry, 1939–1960. He was professor of English at the University of Illinois. Robert O. Crummy is professor emeritus of history at the University of California–Davis. He is the author of Old Believers in a Changing World, The Old Believers and the World of the Antichrist: The Vyg Community and the Russian State, 1694–1855, and Aristocrats and Servitors: The Boyer Elite in Russia, 1613–1689.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrationsand#160;and#160;and#160;
Acknowledgementsand#160;and#160;and#160;
Glossary of Termsand#160;and#160;and#160;
Introductionand#160;and#160;and#160;
1. Imperial Ideasand#160;and#160;and#160;
2. Conflicted Authoritiesand#160;and#160;and#160;
3. Foreign Interestsand#160;and#160;and#160;
4. Loyal Enemiesand#160;and#160;and#160;
5. Irregular Subjectsand#160;and#160;and#160;
6. Subdued Rebelsand#160;and#160;and#160;
Afterwordand#160;and#160;and#160;
Notesand#160;and#160;and#160; and#160;and#160;and#160;
Bibliographyand#160;and#160;and#160;
Index