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Russia's Wars of Emergence 1460-1730

Russia's Wars of Emergence 1460-1730

Carol Stevens

Mar 2007, Paperback, 352 pages
ISBN13: 9780582218918
ISBN10: 0582218918
For orders to USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Japan visit your local Pearson website
£31.99
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Russia’s emergence as a Great Power in the eighteenth century is usually attributed to Peter I’s radical programme of ‘Westernising’ reforms. But the Russian military did not simply copy European armies. Adapting the tactics of its neighbours on both sides, Russia created a powerful strategy of its own, integrating steppe defence with European concerns. In Russia’s Wars of Emergence, Carol Belkin Stevens examines the social and political factors underpinning Muscovite military history, the eventual success of the Russian Empire and the sacrifices made for power.

PART I 1450-1598

  1. The constituents for Muscovite power, c.1450
  2. Creating a Muscovite army, 1462-1533
  3. The army that won an empire

PART II 1598-1697

  1. The political prelude to military reform
  2. The Thirteen Years’ War, 1654-67
  3. The steppe frontier after Razzin, 1672-97

PART III 1698-1730

  1. Peter the Great and the beginning of the Great Northern War
  2. Military instiutionalization after Poltava

Conclusion: Russiawithout Peter

  • Stevens approaches the contentious questions surrounding Russia’s military change by carefully examining the context for Russia’s transformation
  • Focuses on the ways in which geography, political situation, and social structure motivated and constrained Russia’s military efforts
  • Includes a glossary, maps and a comprehensive chronology

Carol Stevens is Associate Professor of History at Colgate University in New York. She teaches courses in medieval, modern and contemporary Russian history and early modern European history. Her previous publications include Soldiers on the Steppe: Army Reform and Social Change in Early modern Russia (1995)