Russian History and Literature

Course Overview

This is a one-semester elective on Russian history and literature from the early 19th century until the present. Employing the frameworks of social and cultural history, as well as literary analysis, we will examine the ways in which Russia and Russian identities evolved during the Tsarist (1462-1917), Socialist (1917-1991), and Democratic (1991-present) eras. Readings for each lesson will consist of a textbook chapter as well as a representative short story from the historical period in question. Writers whose works we will examine include Pushkin, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Bulgakov, and Solzhenitsyn. By combining secondary historical scholarship alongside primary works of fiction, students will see the ways in which elite political decisions affect the lives of ordinary people. They will also gain a better understanding of the richness of Russian culture and literature in general.

The class will meet online once a week for a two-hour live session using video conferencing software. Since much of each lesson will be spent in group discussion, students will be required to leave their camera on during class. There will also be opportunities for asynchronous engagement though a semester-long discussion board and final group activity.

Course Content

Unit 1: Tsarist Russia

This six-week unit covers the Tsarist era. After an introductory class tracing the origins of Russian history and the development of its autocratic state, the remainder of the unit will focus on the Russian Empire during the “modern period,” typically considered to have begun during Alexander II’s Era of Great Reforms. The years 1855 to 1917 were marked by dramatic and often contradictory change, as Tsars, nobility, peasants, workers, and students each struggled bitterly to move Russia in their desired direction. Students will consider what “modern” and “traditional” meant within the context of Imperial Russia and weigh the moral efficacy of competing developmental paths. They will also debate in class and on the discussion board if the Tsarist system of rule was salvageable with the “right” reforms, or if, indeed, it was destined for the “dustbin of history.”

Unit 2: Socialist Russia

This six-week unit covers the Soviet Union from the October 1917 revolution until the stagnation of the Brezhnev era (1964-1985). This was a period of immense political and cultural change, untold human suffering, and heroic accomplishment. Emphasis will be placed on how the stated ideals of socialism were either affirmed or negated by the Bolshevik Party in practice. Students, in class and on the discussion board, will evaluate the political actions of Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Leonid Brezhnev, situating each leader within their historical era while also debating alternative paths of development. Throughout, the tragedies as well as the achievements of the USSR will be highlighted, giving students a full picture of one of the most powerful, but also most oppressive, regimes in history.

Unit 3: Democratic Russia

This final three-week unit examines Russia’s hesitant moves toward democracy, starting with the systemic reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev during the end of the Soviet Union, continuing with the economic turmoil of the Boris Yeltsin era, and concluding with the drift towards authoritarianism under Vladimir Putin. Students will debate if this political trajectory is primarily a reflection of the will of elites, or if it instead reflects a shared desire by ordinary Russians for stability and national pride. Why didn’t post-Soviet Russia follow a development path in line with the rest of Europe? Does Putin’s Russia “make sense” when viewed alongside Russia’s cultural and historical traditions, or is it an aberration? The unit will end with student presentations on a self-selected topic related to contemporary Russia history or culture.