Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy from Peter the Great to the Abdication of Nicholas II - New Abridged One-Volume Edition ... the Harriman Institute, Columbia University)

by Richard S. Wortman

This new and abridged edition of Scenarios of Power is a concise version of Richard Wortman's award-winning study of Russian monarchy from the seventeenth century until 1917. The author breaks new ground by showing how imperial ceremony and imagery were not simply displays of the majesty of the sovereign and his entourage, but also instruments central to the exercise of absolute power in a multinational empire. In developing this interpretation, Wortman presents vivid descriptions of coronations, funerals, parades, trips through the realm, and historical celebrations and reveals how these ceremonies were constructed or reconstructed to fit the political and cultural narratives in the lives and reigns of successive tsars. He describes the upbringing of the heirs as well as their roles in these narratives and relates their experiences to the persistence of absolute monarchy in Russia long after its demise in Europe.

Genres: History, Russia, Russian History, Nonfiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2006

About the author

Richard S. Wortman is James Bryce Professor Emeritus of European Legal History at Columbia University.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

As was often the case in graduate school, I rushed through this book without properly “reading” it, but in this case I was impressed enough by what I saw to put it on my formal reading list, with the intention of getting around to it in a less busy time. Thirteen years later, it finally happened! (By the way: this is why I completely ignore all “recommendations” on goodreads – I have enough to read for the next several lifetimes already).

Wortman, like many Russia scholars, is looking as tsarism through the lens of its demise, wondering how the autocracy managed to fail so spectacularly. He finds the answer in the attitudes of the Tsars themselves. As the system moved into the modern era, Tsars and their supporters created myths or “scenarios” which justified their absolute power in terms of both their separation from the ordinary lives of Russians through Westernized education and upbringing (the “European Myth”) and their connection with a fantasized Russian past of tradition, discipline, and orthodoxy (the “National Myth”). At first, these scenarios were wielded by Tsars to control the people and the elites that made up the bureaucracy, but over time they fell victim to it, to the degree that by the time of the abdication, it was impossible for Nicholas II to accept any compromise or arrangement that in any way weakened his notion of a direct connection between the autocrat and his people, making him an enemy, not only of the Duma and its constitutionalist aspirations, but indeed of the entire leadership caste throughout the empire.

People who want to think of 1917 as a great expression of popular will won’t be excited about a theory that turns the Revolution into essentially a crisis of authority, but the evidence Wortman wields is impressive, at least in terms of showing the development of the mindset of the Tsars through their own ritual and representation. He does not study the Revolution “from below,” however, so there could be considerable evidence for the other side as well. Wherever one may stand on this question, the book is valuable as a narrative of Russian autocracy, and for understanding how a seemingly all-powerful dictatorship can be eaten away by its own reliance on power.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most interesting, and probably most cited, Russian cultural history that I have read so far. I actually read the abridged version, but I hear the unabridged is like 800 pages... this one is only about 500. Truly though a brilliantly written account of the Russian monarchy and the ways that the power of these women and men affected Russian sociality and culture from the 18th-20th century.

[Sam Salem · Rating 3 out of 5]

had to read this for school… incredibly interesting topic that is presented in an easily digestible way that doesn’t make it boring. great read all in all