Description
Book SynopsisIn the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Russians from all ranks of society were bound together by a culture of honor. Here one of the foremost scholars of early modern Russia explores the intricate and highly stylized codes that made up this culture. Nancy Shields Kollmann describes how these codes were manipulated to construct identity and enforce social normsand also to defend against insults, to pursue vendettas, and to unsettle communities. She offers evidence for a new view of the relationship of state and society in the Russian empire, and her richly comparative approach enhances knowledge of statebuilding in premodern Europe. By presenting Muscovite state and society in the context of medieval and early modern Europe, she exposes similarities that blur long-standing distinctions between Russian and European history.
Through the prism of honor, Kollmann examines the interaction of the Russian state and its people in regulating social relations and defining an individ
Trade Review
Based on extensive archival research, Kollmann's book is a groundbreaking study of early modern Russia. Reflecting a thorough familiarity with social science theory, the author argues in support of a new periodization of Russian history on the basis of her findings and for something of a 'convergence' in the Western and Russian historiography of relations between state and society. Required reading for all graduate students and specialists alike.
* Choice *
The codification of 'honor,' Nancy Kollmann tells us in her impressive book, coincided with the expansion of the Muscovite state between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. The incorporation of new territories, the burgeoning size of the Muscovite court, and the necessity of integrating newly conquered provincial elites into the political order necessitated codes that simultaneously co-opted these elites into the political order and differentiated them from the older Muscovite serving men at court.
* Slavic and East European Journal *
This book challenges many accepted tenets, including the type of state erected in Muscovy, the basic periodization of Russian history, and the emergence of new identities and mentalities. It deserves to be read widely.
* American Historical Review *
Table of Contents1. Cultural Concepts of Honor2. Patriarchy in Practice3. The Praxis of Honor4. Honor in the Elite5. Strategies of Integration in an Autocracy6. Toward the Absolutist StateEpilogue: The Endurance of Honor
