Dominic Lieven here probes deeply into the lives and politics of the most important members of Tsar Nicholas II's government-the 215 men appointed by Nicholas to his State Council. His book tells us a great deal about the last ruling elite of Russia, about the balance of power between bureaucrats and their monarchs, about the role and personality of Nicholas II, and about the coming of the Russian Revolution.

Russia's Rulers Under the Old Regime

History

Lieven, Mr. Dominic

Russia

Yale University Press

Who were the members of the Russian ruling elite during the reign of the last Tsar before the Revolution? How did high-level politics operate in Imperial Russia's last years? In this highly original book, Dominic Lieven probes deeply into the lives of the 215 men appointed by Nicholas II to the State Council, which contained all important members of the Russian governmental system of that era. Basing his research on previously untouched Soviet archival sources, Dominic Lieven describes the social, ethnic, educational, and career backgrounds of these men, and he explores how their mentalities were shaped, what their political views were, and how their attitudes and opinions were influenced by their differing backgrounds and careers. Lieven looks not only forward to the causes of the collapse of the old regime but, in his introductory chapter, backward as well, tracing the history of the Russian ruling elite from its earliest origins and making comparisons with the ruling elite of other societies. His conclusions about the resilience of the old aristocratic Russian families and the operation of their self-protective, career-advancing network are striking and original. Lieven's book serves many purposes. It tells us a great deal about the balance of power between the bureaucrats and their monarchs, it brings to life the members of the last ruling elite, and it reveals interesting information about the role and personality of the Emperor Nicholas II. By making regular comparisons with aristocratic elites elsewhere, it sets the Russian experience in a broader European context. And by looking at Russia's problems through the eyes of its ruling aristocracy, it enables us to understand a good deal that is otherwise incomprehensible about the coming of the Russian Revolution.

How does one empire differ from another? Why do empires rise and fall? What has made empires flourish in some eras and regions of the world but not in others? In this broad and ambitious book, Dominic Lieven explores the place and meaning of empire from ancient Rome to the present. The central focus of the book is Russia and the rise and fall of the Tsarist and the Soviet Empires. The overwhelming majority of works on empire concentrate on the European maritime powers. Lieven’s comparative approach highlights the important role played by Russia in the expansion of Europe and its rise to global dominance. The book contrasts the nature, strategies, and fate of empire in Russia with that of its major rivals, the Habsburg, Ottoman, and British empires, and considers a broad range of other cases from ancient China and Rome to the present-day United States, Indonesia, India, and the European Union. Many of the dilemmas of empire persist in today’s world, and Lieven throws new light on some of the most intractable current examples, including the crisis in the former Soviet Union, the troubles in Ulster, and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. This major examination of the imperial experience presents history on the grandest scale, combining formidable erudition with stimulating readability.

Empire: The Russian Empire and Its Rivals

LIEVEN, Dominic

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Books by Lieven, Mr. Dominic

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lieven, Mr. Dominic. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Russia's Rulers Under the Old Regime

Russia's Rulers Under the Old Regime

Empire: The Russian Empire and Its Rivals