HIST 3362 - Princes, Tsars and Serfs: Russia's Rise to Empire

This course examines Russia and its predecessor states from the earliest recorded times to the end of serfdom in the 1860s. This thousand-year history of the lands and peoples that today comprise Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus begins with the founding of Kievan Rus and other medieval east Slavic principalities in the ninth century. The course then focuses on Muscovy and the formation of Russian autocracy and proceeds to the origins and development of the Russian Empire. Students will analyze Russia's position and identity as both a European and Eurasian and the causes of the crises the Russian state faced by the mid-nineteenth century. At the end of the semester students will make presentations based on original research. 3 credits.