RJB426 History of Russia

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Radomír Vlček, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jiří Gazda, CSc.
Department of Slavonic Studies – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Slavonic Studies – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course aims at achieving an understanding of the principal developmental paradigms of the Russian history. Russia is understood as a single power with class, national and spatio-temporal divergences, focusing therefore on understanding the political, economic, social and national stratification of the Russian state and society. The course emphasizes the understanding of crucial political, economic, social and cultural events in Russian history, starting with the Kievan Rus’ and ending with the formation of the Soviet empire in the first half of the 20th century. It concentrates on the formation and transformations of the Russian political system, explained within the context of the cultural development of the Russian civilization, and compared to the development within major European countries. The students will discover the origins, processes of formation and changes within the Kievan, Muscovite and Russian empire; and be able to explain the analogies with the influence of the Russian and Soviet systems, especially life within the Russian and Soviet systems, or the Life of Russian and Soviet Society. Emphasis is therefore being placed on the cultural and historic traditions of the Russian state, and their incorporation into wider cultural and civilization context.
Syllabus
  • 1) The eldest Russian political system; the adoption of Christianity and utilization of Constantinople traditions (Kievan Rus and the Novgorod Republic)
  • 2) Transformations within Russian society and the Russian state during the Tatar and Mongolian invasions
  • 3) Everyday life in Muscovy (illustrated by examples from the reign of Ivan Kalita and Ivan III)
  • 4) Political development and life in Russian society during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV (Zemsky sobor and the Oprichnina)
  • 5) Russia in peril? (The Time of Troubles)
  • 6) Church schism (Raskol) under the first Romanovs (origins, genesis, and impact – life and work of Patriarch Nikon)
  • 7) Reforms of Tsar Peter I the Great – conflict between Slavophiles and Westernizers
  • 8) Russian political system under Catherine II and Paul I (were there really any “Potemkin villages”?)
  • 9) Russia as a part of the European power system (Russia from Napoleonic Wars to the Crimean War)
  • 10) Russian revolutions at the beginning of the 20th century
  • 11) Origins, formation and strengthening of the Soviet power
  • 12) Joseph Stalin / Vladimir Lenin / Peter the Great / Ivan the Terrible – differences and similarities
Literature
  • Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, A History of Russia. New York Oxford 2000
  • Radomír Vlček, Rusko a Západ. Ke kulturně civilizačnímu dilematu 19. století. In: Dějiny kultury a civilizace Západu v 19. století, Brno 2002, s. 142-172
  • Edward Rutherfurd, Russka. Román o Rusku. Brno 2002
  • Martin Malia, Sovětská tragédie. Dějiny socialismu v Rusku v letech 1917-1991. Praha 2004
  • Richard Pipes, Rusko za starého režimu. Praha 2004
  • Orlando Figes, Natašin tanec. Kulturní dějiny Ruska. Praha Plzeň 2004
  • Geoffrey Hosking, Russland. Nation und Imperium. 1552-1917. Berlin 2003
  • Václav Veber, Mikuláš II. a jeho svět. (Rusko 1894-1917). Praha 2000
  • Milan Švankmajer, Petr I. Zrození ruského impéria. Praha 1999
  • Radomír Vlček, Rusko, Severní Kavkaz a Čečensko v 19. století (Ke genezi a vývoji konfliktu). Slovanský přehled 86, 2000, s. 289-308
  • FIGES, Orlando. Lidská tragédie : ruská revoluce, 1891-1924 : A people's tragedy (Orig.). Vyd. 1. Praha: BETA, 2000, 837 s., [6. ISBN 80-86278-74-3-. info
  • SOLŽENICYN, Aleksandr Isajevič. Rusko v troskách. Translated by Milan Dvořák. Vyd. 1. Praha: Práh, 1999, 206 s. ISBN 8072520202. info
  • VLČEK, Radomír. Ruský panslavismus - realita a fikce. 1999, 285 s. info
  • ŠVANKMAJER, Milan. Dějiny Ruska. 3. dopl. a přeprac. vyd. Praha: Lidové noviny, 1995, 558 s. ISBN 80-7106-183-2. info
  • MILJUKOV, Pavel Nikolajevič. Obrazy z dějin ruské vzdělanosti. Translated by Vavřinec Josef Dušek. 4. opr. a dopl. vyd. Praha: Nákladem Jana Laichtera, 1903, xiv, 619. URL info
  • MILJUKOV, Pavel Nikolajevič. Obrazy z dějin ruské vzdělanosti. Translated by Vavřinec Josef Dušek. 4. oprav. a dopln. vyd. Praha: Nákladem Jana Laichtera, 1902, xxiv, 370. URL info
Teaching methods
One 2 hour seminar per week.
Assessment methods
Successful completion of the course requires the submission of a written essay and passing the final oral examination.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Autumn 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2019, recent)
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