The Fragile Empire: A History of Imperial Russia

by Alexander Chubarov

Examines Russian history from the reign of Peter the Great to the collapse of tsarism in 1917

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Russia

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2001

Reviews

[Marcella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was well written and accessible to me, a poor history student. It covers the Russian history from Peter the Great in the late 1600s through the fall of tsarism during WWI. It did a good job of breaking complex historical analysis into manageable sections and separate causes. The author had just a tiny bit of sass.

I was bogged down at the end of the 1800s when we got into the subtleties and nuance of various socialist doctrines, but the story picked up again after the 1905 revolution. The conclusion was actually a great summary of the themes of the book, reiterating the main 'contradictions' of the Russian empire and how they popped up throughout history.

For me, someone with very little historical context for both the region and the time period, this was a fun, digestible, and reasonably engaging overview.

[Binston Birchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a little while to get used to the 'college reading material' style of this book but once I got going I had a hard time putting it down. The book analyzes the social and political conditions of Imperial Russia all the way through to the October revolution of 1917. Chubarov describes why the halfhearted reforms of the Romanov's didn't work and why their rule ended in revolution. It's interesting to compare the way economic change occurred in Russia with the way it happened in the west and also the way slavery/serfdom was abolished in Russia vs. the United States. A very compelling read that leaves me with the question... what if Lenin had agreed with Marx's pre-conditions?

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I thought I would die having to read this for Modern History I didn't. This was really well written and I didn't half-mind reading it. Really good information and insight.

[Syafiqah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written with simplicity and clarity, this book is excellent for anyone seeking to understand the transformation of Russia from the rule of imperial autocracy to the beginnings of the Soviet system. Chubarov also included condensed descriptions of the different schools of thought on the 1917 October Revolution, which is helpful in gaining a brief idea of the different interpretations of the establishment of one of the most important powers in the 20th century.