Russian Notions of Power and State in a European Perspective, 1462-1725: Assessing the Significance of Peter’s Reign

Awards:   Winner of Marc Raeff Book Prize 2023
Author:   Endre Sashalmi
Publisher:   Academic Studies Press
ISBN:  

9781644694176


Pages:   518
Publication Date:   10 November 2022
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Not yet available   Availability explained
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Russian Notions of Power and State in a European Perspective, 1462-1725: Assessing the Significance of Peter’s Reign


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Awards

  • Winner of Marc Raeff Book Prize 2023

Overview

Winner of the 2023 Marc Raeff Book Prize; A 2023 REFORC Book Award Longlist TitleThis book highlights the main features and trends of Russian “political” thought in an era when sovereignty, state, and politics, as understood in Western Christendom, were non-existent in Russia, or were only beginning to be articulated. It concentrates on enigmatic authors and sources that shaped official perception of rulership, or marked certain changes of importance of this perception. Special emphasis is given to those written and visual sources that point towards depersonalization and secularization of rulership in Russia. A comparison with Western Christendom frames the argument throughout the book, both in terms of ideas and the practical aspects of state-building, allowing the reader to ponder Russia’s differentia specifica.

Full Product Details

Author:   Endre Sashalmi
Publisher:   Academic Studies Press
Imprint:   Academic Studies Press
ISBN:  

9781644694176


ISBN 10:   1644694174
Pages:   518
Publication Date:   10 November 2022
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available   Availability explained
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Introduction. Explanation of Aims, Genre, and Terminology PART ONE. Russia and Europe: Clarification of Terms and the Problem of the State 1. Issues of Methodology, Reception, and the Benefits of a Long-Term Approach 2. Territoriality, the Name, and the Nature of the Polity: From the Principality of Moscow to the Russian Empire 3. The Idea of the State in Western Christendom in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era 4. The Role of Metaphors and Allegorical Personifications in the Development of the Concept of the State in Western Christendom 5. The Meaning(s) of European Perspective 6. The Birth and Meaning of the “Russian State Narrative” 7. The Consequences of the State Narrative: The Discovery of Gosudarstvo by Russian History-Writing 8. Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Muscovite Perceptions of Ruling Power: Characteristics and Methodological Aspects of a Comparison with Western Christendom 9. The Problem of Samoderzhavie PART TWO. Notions of Power and State in the Context of “Proprietary Dynasticism”: Russia and the Western Perspective 10. Richard Pipes’s Patrimonial Interpretation of Russia Reconsidered in the Light of “Proprietary Dynasticism” 11. Aspects of Rulership and Their Relation to Each Other in Early Modern Europe and Russia: Proprietary, Office, and Divine Right 12. Divine Right of Kings and Divine Right of Tsars: Aspects and Lessons of a Comparison PART THREE. The Origins of Theory of Law and State in the Works of Feofan Prokopovich: An Intellectual from the Kievan Nest in the Service of Peter the Great 13. Turning Points in the Life of Feofan Prokopovich, and His Most Important Political Works 14. Preliminary Notes on Prokopovich’s Theory of Law and State 15. Power, State, Law, Sovereignty, and Contractualism in Feofan Prokopovich’s Writings 16. Female Allegorical Personification of Russia during the Reign of Peter the Great and His Successors: Visual and Written Sources, and the Notion of State Epilogue: The Importance of Gosudarstvennost′ in Contemporary Russia Bibliography Index

Reviews

“Russia Notions of Power and State meticulously reconstructs medieval and early modern sources to provide a coherent account of the Russian state and power that is shown to be different from European concepts and unique to Russian civilization. It helps explain why the rule of law is arbitrarily applied in Russia, why territorial integrity is considered so vital to Russian national interests, and why Russian rulers are not just leaders but embody the state itself in the person and actions. For those interested in what makes the Russian state distinctive and different from its western counterparts, Russian Notions of Power and State provides a clear picture why and helps us better understand Russian action and strategy in our increasingly fractured and contentious world.” — Lee Trepanier, VoegelinView “Sashalmi’s book gives a comprehensive analysis of the Russian notions of power and state, and provides critical analyses of the terminologies used by Western scholars. It is a valuable resource for academicians, researchers and students who study the history of the Russian state structure.” — Ayse Dietrich, International Journal of Russian Studies “[T]he book under review by a leading Hungarian specialist on medieval and Petrine Russian history has many insights to offer. … Although written by a civilian rather than a legal historian, this is a volume that belongs in an advanced international law collection.” — William E. Butler, Jus Gentium (Vol. 8, No. 1) “Sashalmi’s work meticulously chronicles the genesis and evolution of Russia’s modern state, and the notions behind its meaning and power—becoming an essential reference point for scholars of the long eighteenth century.”  — ECRSA 2023 Marc Raeff Book Prize Committee


Russia Notions of Power and State meticulously reconstructs medieval and early modern sources to provide a coherent account of the Russian state and power that is shown to be different from European concepts and unique to Russian civilization. It helps explain why the rule of law is arbitrarily applied in Russia, why territorial integrity is considered so vital to Russian national interests, and why Russian rulers are not just leaders but embody the state itself in the person and actions. For those interested in what makes the Russian state distinctive and different from its western counterparts, Russian Notions of Power and State provides a clear picture why and helps us better understand Russian action and strategy in our increasingly fractured and contentious world. - Lee Trepanier, VoegelinView


Author Information

Endre Sashalmi is a professor of history at the Department of Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Pécs (Hungary), and is a doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main fields of academic interest and research are comparisons of Western and Russian political thought and political iconography from the 15th to the 18th century, as well as the issue of state formation in Russia and in early modern Europe.

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