Description
Book SynopsisDestroying almost 3 billion rubles' worth of property in European Russia between 1860 and 1904, accidental and arson fires acted as a brake on Russia's economic development. Using sources ranging from newspaper articles to statistical tables and court records, this work demonstrates the many meanings fire held for peasants and the educated elite.
Trade Review"This monumental study is the fruit of meticulous research in St. Petersburg central archives as well as Smolensk, Novogorod, and Vologda regional archives. Frierson examines not only educated society's perceptions of fire and of the peasantry it associated with village conflagrations but also fire's multiple realities. In doing so, she grapples with such fundamental issues as late imperial Russia's undergovernment, insufficient judicial system, economic backwardness, nascent civil society, misogyny, peasant culture, and interclass relationships. A must read for all historians of Russia and developing nations, this book persuasively argues that fire holds the key to explaining Russia's economic poverty in the modern era and illuminates the ways in which educated and barely literature members of Russian society were able to join forces to fight a scourge that repeatedly devastated the countryside's resources."
* American Historical Review *
"The history of fire in Russia is such a splendid topic that one can only feel surprised that no one has previously attempted to write it. Cathy Frierson is to be congratulated not only for her inspired choice of theme but also for her accomplished execution of the task..A superb and innovative piece of scholarship."
* The Russian Review *
"[Frierson's] wide-ranging and thoughtful analysis, with implications that extend into the realms of economic development, gender relations, and rural daily life, offers the reader an abundance of vivid evidence as well as thought-provoking conclusions."
* Slavic Review *
"An excellent study which provides thought-provoking insights into post-Emancipation Russia through a fascinating analysis of the history of fire. The enthusiasm and interest Frierson shows toward her subject is reflected in the engaging writing style and the wide range of materials she uses to produce a multi-layered examination of an issue that affected all strata of Russian society. . . . While Frierson's focus on Russia is sharp and incisive, one is also able to see the country through an impressive theoretical and historical framework that provides a blueprint for new approaches to the study of Russian history."
* Slavic and East European Journal *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
PART ONE: FROM BENEVOLENT FORCE TO NATIONAL MISFORTUNE: FIRE'S CONTESTED MEANINGS IN RURAL RUSSIA
Fire as Gentle Cookery and Paradise: Peasants as Mistresses and Masters of Fire
Fire as Apocalypse or Pathology: Peasants as Victims or Vectors of Fire
Fire as Russia's Historical Evil: Peasants Dispossessed by Fire
PART TWO: LETTING LOOSE THE RED ROOSTER: ARSON IN RURAL RUSSIA
The Fiery Brand, Russian Style: Arson as Protest, Peasants as Incendiaries
Arson as Impotent Spite or Potent Practice: Peasants as Vengefull, Covetous, or Wily Actors
PART THREE: MOBILIZING TO MAKE RUSSIA MODERN: INSURING, PLANNING, VOLUNTEERING
Fire as Insurance Hazard: Peasants as Students of Prudence and Precaution
Fire Contained in the Planned Village: Peasants as Residents in a Disciplined Domestic Order
Fire as the Internal Enemy: Peasants as Volunteer Firefighters
Conclusion: Fire as an Imperial Legacy, Peasants as Partners in Progress
Notes
References
Index
