History · Boston College
In 1721, Peter the Great declared that Russia would be an Empire. That empire survived for almost two hundred years. This course will survey central issues in imperial Russian history, focusing on how the rulers of the Romanov dynasty solidified their rule and incorporated peoples of diverse cultures. Although Peter's dream collapsed in 1917, the key question to be asked in this course is: given all the forces threatening to tear the Russian Empire apart for so long, how was it that it survived--and even expanded--for so long?
