Course Name 
History of Russia: History of Russia: 
Politics, Economy, Military Affairs
Course Overview 
Level of study	Bachelor Degree	
Workload	ECTS: 3
Total Hours: 108
Contact Hours: 32
•	Lectures: 16
•	Labs:
•	Seminars: 16	
Course Code		
Semester	Winter / Summer	
Prerequisites	Sociology
Economics	
Course Objectives	•	Acquiring historical information analysis skills in accordance with the principles of scientific objectivity and historicism;
•	Acquiring the skills of scholarly reasoning in defending one’s own position on the issues of history;
•	Acquiring the skills of the analysis of historical sources;
•	Knowledge of the methods of processing historical information from printed and electronic sources;
•	Knowledge of the methods of evaluation of historical experience.	
Learning Outcomes	•	The ability to understand the importance of social history, scientific principles of historical knowledge;
•	The ability to navigate through the key processes and events of Russia’s past;
•	The ability to see relationships between past and present with due respect and care applying critical attitude to historical heritage;
•	The ability to use basic knowledge of history in professional activities and establish durable lines of intellectual, cultural, moral and professional development.	
Syllabus	Ancient Russia and the rise of Muscovy.
The Tsardom of Muscovy.
Imperial Russia (1682-1815).
Imperial Russia: The age of reform and reaction (1815-1914).
The age of war and revolution (1914-22).
Soviet Russia: Utopia and reality (1922-40).
Soviet Union: Triumph and decline (1941-EARLY 1970s).
Soviet Union: Stability and collapse.	
Labs	None	
Projects	1.	The conversion of Russia to Orthodox Christianity. The role of the Orthodox Church in Ancient Russia.
2.	The emergence of Russian autocracy.
3.	The Golden Horde and Russia: their interaction and mutual influence.
4.	Patriotic War of 1812 and its significance.
5.	The Byzantine legacy in Russian ideological, political, and cultural life.
6.	Time of Troubles and its consequences for Russia.
7.	Ethnic conflicts and national movements in the USSR in the period of Perestroika.
8.	Peter I’s reforms as the starting point of modernization in Russia.
9.	Russian conquest of Siberia (XVI-XVII centuries).
10.	The first Russian parliament: State Duma in Russia in the early 20th century.
11.	Slavophiles and Westernizers: leaders, ideas, and impact on Russian society.
12.	Industrialization in the USSR.
13.	Soviet dissident movement in the 1970-80s: goals, figures, major activities, and significance.
14.	Populist terror and its impact on Russian history.
15.	Causes of the collapse of Soviet socialism.
16.	‘Silver Age’ of the Russian literature.
17.	Provisional Government in power: activities, problems, and historical role.
18.	Andrei Sakharov as an outstanding scientist and political figure.
19.	The post-Soviet Russian political system: creation, evolution, challenges.
20.	The October events of 1917: causes, features, and aftermath.
21.	Civil war: reasons, contending forces, major events and consequences.
22.	History of the invention of nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union.
23.	Soviet foreign policy in 1939-41.
24.	The Cold War.
25.	Political repression in the Soviet Union (1930-40s).
26.	Stalin’s ‘Great Leap Forward’ policy and its implications (economic, political, social).
27.	Collectivization in the USSR: objectives, implementation mechanisms, and consequences.
28.	Soviet economy during the Great Patriotic War.
29.	Economic reforms in post-Soviet Russia: their goals and results.
30.	Russia in World War I (1914-17): goals, allies, home political situation.
31.	The Great Reforms of Alexander II and their historical significance.
32.	The Gulag: creation, scale, and historical significance.
33.	Soviet state and the church.	
Assessment	Student grades will be calculated with the use of the following criteria:
1. Class Attendance – 25%;
2. Topic for Individual Homework (Oral Report) – 25%;
3. Final Paper – 25%;
4. Final Exam – 25%.	
Resources	1.	Auty, Robert and Obolensky, Dimitry. An Introduction to Russian History. – N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
2.	Encyclopedia of Russian History. James R. Millar, editor in chief. – N.Y.: Thompson Gale, 2004.
3.	Kort, Michael. A brief history of Russia. – N.Y.: Facts on File, 2008.
4.	Riazanovsky, Nicholas V. A history of Russia, 6th ed. – Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.
5.	The Cambridge History of Russia. Edited by Maureen Perrie, Dominic Lieven, Ronald Grigor Suny. – Vol. I-III. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Software and Web sources
1.	The Xenophile Historian http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/russia/index.html
2.	http://www. Britannica.com/place/Russia/History
3.	http://www. Britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union/The-Russian-Revolution
4.	http://www. Britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union/The-U-S-S-R-from-the-death-of-Lenin-to-the-death-of-Stalin
5.	http://www. Britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union/The-U-S-S-R-from-1953-to-1991	
Instructor	Ragozin D.V.
dvr@tpu.ru
http://portal.tpu.ru/SHARED/p/DVR/eng