Writing the Russian Empire, 1450-1801

This is an Archive of a Past Event

Professor Kollmann will discuss her recently completed manuscript entitled, “The Russian Empire, 1450-1801,” presenting the key themes around which she shaped the narrative. Construing the Russian empire as a typical Eurasian or “politics of difference” empire, she examines how the early modern Russian empire tolerated difference – ethnic, religious, linguistic – in its subject peoples and how it selectively chose when to assert empire-wide coercive force. In that light, one of Kollmann’s goals is to present the diversity of Russia’s subject peoples and to avoid a Russo-centric perspective. The talk will also reflect on the rhetorical challenges of constructing a coherent narrative between the poles of chronology and theme.