Lord and Peasant in Russia from the Ninth to the Nineteenth Century is a political-social-economic history of Russia written by historian Jerome Blum and published by
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...
in 1961. The work covers the period from Varangian origins, to the end of serfdom in the 19th century.
Synopsis
As the title indicates, the work in centered on the evolving relationships between landowners and peasants and how that relationship impacted the political world and economic conditions inside Russia. The author explores how the growing power of towns and trade, a dispersed population, and poor transportation and communications networks influenced this fundamental social relationship underlying Russian society.
In the introduction to the work, the author describes their intention to,
''"trace the history of the lords and peasants, and of the relationships between them" through a period of one thousand years, "against the background of Russian political and economic evolution, " to produce "a study in the history of human freedom" and to "contribute ultimately to an understanding of the history of freedom in the European world"''
The work begins with a brief introduction about the physical geography of Russia and the nature of serfdom. From here the author works chronologically through its period,
with short sections on the Kievan and Mongol eras, followed by a longer section on the 16th and 17th centuries and the establishment of serfdom. The final 150 years of serfdom make up the longest section and almost half the book.
Academic reception
''Lord and Peasant in Russia'' has been widely reviewed within the academic community and has become a part of the reading curriculum at several universities.
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Quotes
* M. S. Anderson of the London School of Economic wrote in their review, whatever faults the book may contain, ''"this is a solid and extremely useful piece of work. It will remain for many years a mine of information for students and an essential tool for teachers."''
* Alexander Gerschenkron of Harvard University writes in the
Journal of Economic History
''The Journal of Economic History'' is an academic journal of economic history which has been published since 1941. Many of its articles are quantitative, often following the formal approaches that have been called cliometrics or the new economi ...
''"To say it at once, Jerome Blum's new book of this title is a most impressive piece of work.' Here is the history of one thousand years of Russian agrarian relations, presented with a knowledge of the subject and a lucidity in the narration that will make this book a standard work in the field for many years to come."''
About the author
Jerome Blum was an American historian and professor at Princeton University; Blum was chairman of the Department of History at Princeton from 19611967, and was named ''Henry Charles Lea Professor of History'' in 1966. Their scholarship centers on Agricultural history in central and eastern Europe. They received their Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1947. He was a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, which published a memorial to him in their proceedings.
In addition to ''Lord and Peasant in Russia'', Blum is the author of several books, including:
* ''Noble Landowners and Agriculture in Austria: 1815–1848'', (1948).
* ''The Emergence of the European World'', (1966).
* ''The European World since 1815: Triumph and Transition'', (1970).
* ''The End of the Old Order in Rural Europe'', (1978).
* ''Our Forgotten Past: Seven Centuries of Life on the Land'', (1982).
* ''In the Beginning: The Advent of the Modern Age: Europe in the 1840s'', (1994).
See also
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Serfdom in Russia
The term '' serf'', in the sense of an unfree peasant of tsarist Russia, is the usual English-language translation of () which meant an unfree person who, unlike a slave, historically could be sold only with the land to which they were "attac ...
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Emancipation reform of 1861
The emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia, also known as the Edict of Emancipation of Russia, (russian: Крестьянская реформа 1861 года, translit=Krestyanskaya reforma 1861 goda – "peasants' reform of 1861") was the first ...
References
Notes
Citations
External links
Book website Princeton University Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Peasant, Russia
History books about Russia
History books about the Russian Empire
History books about the Grand Duchy of Moscow
History books about the Tsardom of Russia
1961 non-fiction books
English-language books
Princeton University Press books