Cultivating Nationhood In Imperial Russia

Nineteenth-century Armenia was a zone of competition between the Persian, Ottoman, and the Russian Empires. Yet over the course of the century a new generation of Armenian journalists, scholars, and writers worked to transform their geographically, socially, and linguistically fragmented communities threatened by regional isolation and dissent, into a patriotic and nationally conscious population. Lisa Khachaturian seeks to explain how this profoundly divided society managed to achieve a common cultural bond.The national project that captivated nineteenth-century Eastern Armenian intellectuals was a daunting task, especially since their efforts were directed in the Caucasus--a territory known for its volatile history, its ethnic heterogeneity, and its linguistic complexity. Although this cultural and social maelstrom was both aggravated and tempered by the new Russian arena of economic growth, urban development, and heightened technology and communication, diversity was hardly a recent phenomenon in the region; it had been an endemic part of Caucasian history for centuries. Armenians were no exception to this. While the Georgians, bound to their landed nobility, generally lived within kingdoms, the Armenians experienced centuries of forced resettlement, migration, and centuries of habitation among other peoples. Some Armenians had settled in faraway countries, but many remained in scattered colonies within the boundaries of historic Armenia.This is a study of the formation of modern Armenian national consciousness under Imperial Russian rule. The Tsarist acquisition of Armenian-populated territory and consequent efforts to integrate this territory into the empire imposed sufficient unity to provide a basis for a nascent national movement. The particular influences of Russian imperial rule met the Eastern Armenian communities to create a new environment for a modern national revival. This book reviews how nineteenth-century Armenian intellectuals discussed and conceived of the nation through the formation of the Armenian press. This is a rare blend of national culture and communication networking.

This title was first published in 2000: A collection of articles by Russian and Western experts on nationalism. The objective of the work is to give an overview of the new Russian identity-building and of the historical continuities that lie behind this ongoing process. The main theme is the shift from empire and imperial consciousness, characteristic both of the imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, towards a new identity as a nation state. Ultra-nationalism and the threat posed by ultra-right extremists groups is also among the most important themes in the book. The rising nationalist extremism is one of the several major projects that seek to redefine the Russion nationhood. The ultra-nationalist challenge is examined in several articles; the anatomy of extreme Russian nationalism is also examined through a case study of a small militant group of extremists.

"This title was first published in 2000: A collection of articles by Russian and Western experts on nationalism. The objective of the work is to give an overview of the new Russian identity-building and of the historical continuities that lie behind this ongoing process. The main theme is the shift from empire and imperial consciousness, characteristic both of the imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, towards a new identity as a nation state. Ultra-nationalism and the threat posed by ultra-right extremists groups is also among the most important themes in the book. The rising nationalist extremism is one of the several major projects that seek to redefine the Russion nationhood. The ultra-nationalist challenge is examined in several articles; the anatomy of extreme Russian nationalism is also examined through a case study of a small militant group of extremists."--Provided by publisher.

This book examines the role of Russian and Serbian nationalism in dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in 1991.

This clear and focused text provides an introduction to imperial Russian and Soviet history from the crowning of Mikhail Romanov in 1613 to Vladimir Putin’s new term. Through a consistent chronological narrative, Kees Boterbloem considers the political, military, economic, social, religious, and cultural developments and crucial turning points that led Russia from an exotic backwater to superpower stature in the twentieth century. The author assesses the tremendous price paid by those who made Russia and the Soviet Union into such a hegemonic power, both locally and globally. He considers the complex and varied interactions between Russians and non-Russians and investigates the reasons for the remarkable longevity of this last of the colonial powers, whose dependencies were not granted independence until 1991. He explores the ongoing legacies of this fraught decolonization process on the Russian Federation itself and on the other states that succeeded the Soviet Union. The only text designed and written specifically for a one-semester course on this four-hundred-year period, it will appeal to all readers interested in learning more about the history of the people who have inhabited one-sixth of the earth’s landmass for centuries.

"A vibrant artistic milieu emerged in the late-nineteenth century Istanbul that was extremely heterogeneous, including Ottoman, Ottoman-Armenian, French, Italian, British, Polish and Ottoman-Greek artists. Roberts analyzes the ways artistic output intersected with the broader political agenda of a modernizing Ottoman state. She draws on extensive original research, bringing together sources in Turkey, England, France, Italy, Armenia, Poland and Denmark. Five chapters each address a particular issue related to transcultural exchange across the east-west divide that is focused on a particular case study of art, artistic patronage, and art exhibitions in nineteenth-century Istanbul"--Provided by publisher.

According to Benedict Anderson, the rapid expansion of print media during the late-1700s popularised national history and standardised national languages, thus helping create nation-states and national identities at the expense of the old empires. Publishing in Tsarist Russia challenges this theory and, by examining the history of Russian publishing through a transnational lens, reveals how the popular press played an important and complex Imperial role, while providing a “soft infrastructure” which the subjects could access to change Imperial order. As this volume convincingly argues, this is because the Russian language at this time was a lingua franca; it crossed borders and boundaries, reaching speakers of varying nationalities. Russian publications, then, were able to effectively operate within the structure of Imperialism but as a public space, they went beyond the control of the Tsar and ethnic Russians. This exciting international team of scholars provide a much-needed, fresh take on the history of Russian publishing and contribute significantly to our understanding of print media, language and empire from the 18th to 20th centuries. Publishing in Tsarist Russia is therefore a vital resource for scholars of Russian history, comparative nationalism, and publishing studies.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia has struggled to establish itself, with a faltering economy, emigration of the intelligentsia and the weakening of civil society. This book explores how a new national elite has emerged and how it has constructed a new national narrative to suit Armenia’s new circumstances. The book examines the importance of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan, considers the impact of fraught relations with Turkey and the impact of relations with other neighbouring states including Russia, and discusses the poorly-developed role of the very large Armenian diaspora. Overall, the book provides a key overview to understanding the forces shaping all aspects of present-day Armenia.