Preface

Russia is a complex nation with a rich and colorful history. It is a land that spans two continents, 14 countries, and nine time zones. It stretches from Europe in the west to China in the east, and its more than 145 million inhabitants represent some 160 ethnicities. Western Russia holds the bulk of the populace and boasts a very European culture. Eastern Russia, composed mostly of Siberia, meanwhile, is home to Lapps and Eskimos, two of the groups that make up the region’s large indigenous population. Russia’s history is as varied as its land. From the medieval kingdom of Ki¬evan Rus’ to the expansive Soviet Union, Russia has reinvented itself numerous times. In the middle of the 20th century, it emerged from World War II as one of two global superpowers. For decades, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, rivaled the United States, building a vast communist empire that would last until 1991.

In the two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has struggled to maintain its stability and influence. Today the country faces major challenges, among them poverty, government corruption, regional tensions, and the threat of terrorist attacks. On the other hand, the economy has largely recovered from its post-Soviet swoon, and Russia has taken its place alongside Brazil, India, and China as one of the world’s four rising economic powers. In foreign relations, Russia has reasserted itself, waging a controversial war on the neighboring country of Georgia. Many western observers saw in this conflict the re-emergence of an imperial Russia, one not afraid to pursue its interests—with military might, if need be—in its historic sphere of influence. President Dimitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lead a country uncertain of its future and acutely aware of its past.

The articles collected in this volume of The Reference Shelf paint a broad picture of Russia. The book opens with four historical chapters and ends with one dedicated to the issues facing contemporary Russia. Articles in the first chapter, “Early History: From Medieval to Imperial Russia,” center on the establishment of Kievan Rus’, the kingdom that later became Russia, and the emergence of the Russian Empire. Kievan Rus’ was founded by Varangians, adventurous Scandinavian traders and warriors who traveled east from their native lands. The Varangians captured the city of Kiev, which is in present-day Ukraine, and laid the foundation for a large empire. In time, Moscow replaced Kiev as the kingdom’s center, and under the leadership of two men named Ivan—Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible—the Rus’ defeated Mongol invaders and expanded their territory. Over the next 400 years, a succession of rulers, called czars, added still more land, transforming Russia into a major power. Along the way, the country waged numerous wars with its Western European neighbors, culminating in World War I. From the ashes of that devastating conflict rose a new government, one that would forever change the course of Russian history.

From 1905 to 1917, a series of events led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new form of government—a communist system shaped by the philosophies of Karl Marx. Through revolution and civil conflict, a group of radicals known as Bolsheviks seized power from the post-monarchy Russian Provisional Government, laying the groundwork for the Soviet Union. Articles in the second chapter examine the period from the unsuccessful 1905 Russian Revolution, through the revolt of 1917, and into the first decades of the newly formed Soviet Union.

Selections in the third chapter follow the Soviet Union through its 1991 collapse. The USSR emerged from World War II a superpower, with forces deployed throughout Eastern Europe, and the only nation capable of challenging the United States for global dominance. This rivalry, known as the Cold War, lasted nearly 50 years. Although the two countries never formally engaged in combat, they fought a series of proxy wars and stockpiled arms, stoking fears of nuclear war. By the 1980s, amid unrest at home and a disastrous war in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union had begun to falter. The fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989, spelled the end for the USSR, which finally dissolved two years later, after a failed coup d’etat.

In the tumultuous period that followed, Russia’s economy lay in tatters. People were jobless and destitute, and many elderly citizens lost their homes and savings. Eventually a middle-class emerged, spurred by new businesses and entrepreneurship, and the nation again reinvented itself. Entries in the fourth chapter examine this post-Soviet era.

Selections in the fifth and final chapter focus on present-day Russia, touching on recent subway bombings—byproducts of a centuries-old conflict with Chechnya—relations with China, civil unrest in the west, life in the nation’s capital, salmon poaching in the east, and a host of other issues.

Russia is, was, and probably always will be an extremely complex country. It is no easy feat to produce a small, introductory volume on such a large subject. Therefore, I would like to acknowledge those at the H.W. Wilson Company who have helped me in this endeavor—my colleagues Joseph Miller, Paul McCaffrey, Kenneth Partridge, and Carolyn Ellis.

Richard Joseph Stein
July 2010