Seapower States: maritime culture, continental empires and the conflict that made the modern world

Abstract

Western views of Russia – especially in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries – presented Russia to the world as being backward, barbarous, and rude. They missed the nuance of Russia’s culture and empire, which set a pattern of interpretation of Russia’s actions in the world that has lasted well into the twentieth century and beyond. Starting with chapter four and continuing through the remaining chapters, the author presents an excellent survey of Russia’s history through its major chronological eras, focused always on the theme of how empire shaped the region’s development. It must be noted that this is not a complete history of Russia, and it does not attempt to be. Instead, it stresses the reality of the developing multi-ethnic empire that emerged as Russia took in more and more non-Russian territory over the centuries. The Soviet and post-Soviet sections are the most complicated. Since 1991, Russia has been one of fifteen countries formed out of the failed Soviet Union, but it inherited the foreign policy portfolio of the entire Soviet Union. Current tensions with neighboring countries, especially Ukraine, reignite the discussion of Russia as an empire during the reign of Vladimir Putin. This work was published after the first seizure of territory in 2014, but before the invasion of February 2022. Boterbloem’s study is an excellent introduction to the concept of empire in the Russian space. This book is a welcome addition to the literature on this subject for both the scholar and student.