Early Imperial Russia

The lecture opens with a response to Adrian's previous lecture by Adrian's teaching assistant, a Russo-Ukrainian scholar, Dmytro Ostapenko. History is all about argument and evidence. Dmytro critiques Adrian's "Normanist" point of view about the C9th-C10th origins of the Russian state (i.e., that the Rusi’an state was Varangian-Viking inspired). Dr Dmytro Ostapenko offers a stricter view of what is meant by “statehood”. Dr Ostapenko cites evidence discussing how bands had already evolved into Slavic tribes and kings (and hence a state) and he discusses a wider range of what he believes are indigenous Slavic cultural and economic influences on state formation. Adrian then replies and as he does he discusses more of the Viking and Slav evidence, focussing on the Russian Primary Chronicle (circa 1115) and relations between forest and steppe, as viewed in the light of Arab-Persian (Ibn Fadhlan, Ibn Khurdadbeh), Carolingian (Bertinian Annals 832), Byzantine (C10th Constantine VII Porphyrogenitas on the Administration of the Empire) and Khazar sources.

Copyright 2013 Adrian Jones / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

This lecture considers the question of the origins of Russia and Russians. A wide range of comparisons are explored: both in terms of key concepts, and in terms of contrasting episodes in history, modern and classical. Students that week were reading Ibn Fadlan’s account (922 CE) of an encounter with the Rus’ at the mouth of the Volga Rr on the Caspian Sea, and those parts of the [Kievan] Russian Primary chronicle (written ca 1110 CE) about the origins of the creation of the “Rus’ian” state at the end of the C10th.

Copyright 2013 Adrian Jones / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

This lecture considers the question of the origins of Russia and Russians. A wide range of comparisons are explored: both in terms of key concepts, and in terms of contrasting episodes in history, modern and classical. Students that week were reading Ibn Fadlan’s account (922 CE) of an encounter with the Rus’ at the mouth of the Volga Rr on the Caspian Sea, and those parts of the [Kievan] Russian Primary chronicle (written ca 1110 CE) about the origins of the creation of the “Rus’ian” state at the end of the C10th.

Copyright 2013 Adrian Jones / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

This lecture considers the question of the origins of Russia and Russians. A wide range of comparisons are explored: both in terms of key concepts, and in terms of contrasting episodes in history, modern and classical. Students that week were reading Ibn Fadlan’s account (922 CE) of an encounter with the Rus’ at the mouth of the Volga Rr on the Caspian Sea, and those parts of the [Kievan] Russian Primary chronicle (written ca 1110 CE) about the origins of the creation of the “Rus’ian” state at the end of the C10th.

Copyright 2013 Adrian Jones / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

This lecture considers the question of the origins of Russia and Russians. A wide range of comparisons are explored: both in terms of key concepts, and in terms of contrasting episodes in history, modern and classical. Students that week were reading Ibn Fadlan’s account (922 CE) of an encounter with the Rus’ at the mouth of the Volga Rr on the Caspian Sea, and those parts of the [Kievan] Russian Primary chronicle (written ca 1110 CE) about the origins of the creation of the “Rus’ian” state at the end of the C10th.

Copyright 2013 Adrian Jones / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.