REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE AS SUBJECTS OF HISTORY BOOK REVIEW: BOLTUNOVA, E. & V. SANDERLEND (EDS.) (2021), REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE: IDENTITY, REPRESENTATION, (ON) MEANING: COLLECTIVE MONOGRAPH, NOVOE LITERATURNOE OBOZRENIE, MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 304 P.: ILL. (HISTORIA ROSSICA SERIES)

Abstract

At the center of the collective monograph of Russian and foreign researchers is the concept of “region”, interpreted as a subject that creates history, and at the same time as an object of historical research, a basic construct or (and) a very specific territory. Chronologically, the book covers a large period of Imperial Russia: from the 1760s to 1910. It presents the various outlying regions of the Empire and Central Russia. The desire of historians to show the role of regions in the system of their relations with the central government is associated with the search for what should be called a region, with the search for its history and understanding of identity. The ambiguity of the concept of region, which the authors adhere to, has opened up the opportunity to present regions through the economic, political, cultural relations of “their” time and “their” problems; and to focus on representations and meanings. The narrative of some authors contrasts with the explanatory models employed by others; and imaginary territories alternate on the pages of the book with regions that are quite specific in ethnic or socio-economic terms. In general, the reviewed monograph shows the importance of regions in Russian history and the importance of a regional approach in the study of Russia