Russia under the Old regime

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On its publication in 1974, Russia Under the Old Regime was well received; subsequently, although this had not been my intention in writing it, it has been adopted in many college courses on Russian history. At the same time, the book's central thesis aroused lively controversy, and this for at least two reasons.

Russian historical scholarship both before the Revolution and since, has followed the positivistic tradition which demands that the scholar focus on a narrow, precisely defined subject and rely on primary sources. Broader historical questions are left to philosophers and publicists. As a result, the historical literature has hardly any works by professional historians that attempt not only to trace but also to interpret the course of Russian history. The very appearance of such a work was therefore bound to stir debate.

Controversy was further aroused by the argument of continuity between the political practices of Muscovite and late Imperial Russia (1878-1905) on the one hand, and those of the Soviet Union on the other. The thesis displeased alike communist historians and their opponents, anti-communist nationalists, who, for their own disparate reasons, contend that October 1917 marked a fundamental break with Russia's past.

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