COREVP1 REASONS FOR THE RUSSIAN CATASTROPHE OF THE 20th CENTURY AND POSSIBILITIES TO OVERCOME IT

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023

The course is not taught in Autumn 2023

Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
prof. Andrey Zubov (lecturer)
Mgr. Martina Babinčáková (assistant)
Mgr. Tatiana Peťková (assistant)
Mgr. Ondřej Varaďa (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Tomáš Malý, Ph.D.
Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 107 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/107, only registered: 0/107, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/107
Course objectives (in Czech)
A series of six lectures given by a special guest of the Masaryk University, a distinguished specialist in Russian history, professor Andrej Zubov.
Annotation:
The Russian Catastrofy, i.e. the Russian revolution took place in the first quarter of the XXth century. Richard Pipes defined its borders as 1900-1927. But I prefer more narrow dates – 1917-1922. Preceding period was the time of attempt to turn Russia to a way of modern liberal and democratic development, in some sense to continue the Great Reforms which undertook Alexandre II in 1858-1881. The revolutionary coup d’état of 1917 crushed all these previous attempts. From the five years long Civil war Russia didn’t go out as a modernized state and society but as a totalitarian autocracy in the spirit of Renaissance monarchies of Cosimo de Medici, Henry VIII of England or John the Terrible of Moscow. Stylish socialist phraseology ought not to misguide the character and essence of the Soviet communist regime which was an archaic despotism. This form of the state existed up till the demolishment of the USSR and was revived almost immediately in the mid of 1990th. We may see this archaic regime in the war with almost the whole civilized world now.
Learning outcomes
A short final essay as a reaction on the following questions: 1. Summarize the main theses and ideas of the course. 2. Which questions, interpretations, and conclusions do you find thought-provoking and surprising. Please, specify the reasons. 3. Name a book/article/film/discussion you have recently read or seen and which is related to the topic of the course.
Syllabus
  • 1. The mistakes of development of Russia in the XVIII-XIX centuries this resulted in the failure of the development of Prerevolutionary Russia. – Two lectures.
  • 2. The character of the Russian totalitarian state and the “spirit of inhumanity” of the Soviet society. – Two lectures.
  • 3. The abortive attempt of the Perestroyka’s reforms and the early Eltzin’s reforms – 1975-1994. – One lecture.
  • 4. The means and perspectives for the new Russian state to put an end to archaic autocracy, and to reunite with up to date modern civilization. – One lecture.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2023/COREVP1