Summary of Abraham Ascher's Russia

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The debate between Russia’s Westerners and Slavophiles has been going on for over a century and a half. The Westerners believed that Russia was part of Western European civilization, while the Slavophiles believed that Russia had unique cultural traditions that should not be changed.

#2 The history of Russia is extremely complex, and it is difficult to come up with a consensus on many of the country’s past events. The country was isolated from Western Europe during the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, and it remained largely unaffected by the Protestant Reformation, the scientific revolution, and the Enlightenment in the sixteenth century.

#3 Russia differed from most European countries in several respects. The Industrial Revolution did not take place in Russia until late in the nineteenth century, and serfdom was established in 1649 when a new Code of Law reaffirmed the subservient condition of peasants.

#4 By the early twentieth century, Russia appeared to many within the elite to be a clumsy giant. The country was blessed with abundant natural resources, but they were unevenly distributed throughout the land.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822520783

IRB Media

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Insights on Abraham Ascher's Russia

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The debate between Russia’s Westerners and Slavophiles has been going on for over a century and a half. The Westerners believed that Russia was part of Western European civilization, while the Slavophiles believed that Russia had unique cultural traditions that should not be changed.

#2

The history of Russia is extremely complex, and it is difficult to come up with a consensus on many of the country’s past events. The country was isolated from Western Europe during the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, and it remained largely unaffected by the Protestant Reformation, the scientific revolution, and the Enlightenment in the sixteenth century.

#3

Russia differed from most European countries in several respects. The Industrial Revolution did not take place in Russia until late in the nineteenth century, and serfdom was established in 1649 when a new Code of Law reaffirmed the subservient condition of peasants.

#4

By the early twentieth century, Russia appeared to many within the elite to be a clumsy giant. The country was blessed with abundant natural resources, but they were unevenly distributed throughout the land.

#5

Russia’s natural resources are extensive, but the country’s archaic social and political system prevented it from taking advantage of the advances in modern science and technology that began in the seventeenth century.

#6

The first problem that the student of history encounters is the origin of the Russian state. According to the Normanist school of historians, the beginnings of a Slavic commonwealth can be traced to AD 862, when the tribes known as Varangian Russes sent an urgent message to Scandinavian princes for help.

#7

During the second period, from 972 to 1139, Kievan princes sought to stabilize the new state, and a principal means was the adoption of Christianity. They destroyed all statues of pagan deities, and directed the entire population to be baptized in the local rivers.

#8

When Vladimir died in 1015, Kievan Rus’s prestige had risen appreciably, but the principality was still politically unstable. The problem was the absence of a clearly defined rule for succession. For example, Iaroslav succeeded Vladimir in 1015 but did not become sole ruler until 1036, when his brother Mstislav died.

#9

Kiev was a major city in Russia, and it was very wealthy due to its dependence on trade and agriculture. The land in the southern regions of the principality was very fertile, and the city enjoyed a series of good harvests for several years without any additional tilling.

#10

The political system of Kievan Rus was an amalgam of three features: the monarchic, the aristocratic, and what we would call today the democratic. The monarchic element was the prince, who was the ruler. The aristocratic element was the aristocracy, which was the upper crust of boyardom.

#11

The political system in Russia was originally designed to prevent discord, but it had evolved by the eleventh century into