Empire of the Periphery: Russia and the World System

by Boris Kagarlitsky

Leading writer Boris Kagarlitsky offers an ambitious account of 1000 years of Russian history. Encompassing all key periods in Russia's dramatic development, the book covers everything from early settlers, through medieval decline, Ivan the Terrible - the 'English Tsar', Peter the Great, the Crimean War and the rise of capitalism, the revolution, the Soviet period, finally ending with the return of capitalism after 1991.

Setting Russia within the context of the 'World System', as outlined by Wallerstein, this is a major work of historical Marxist theory that is set to become a future classic.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Economics, Russian Literature, Sociology

384 pages, Hardcover

First published December 20, 2007

About the author

Boris Yulyevich Kagarlitsky is a Russian Marxist theoretician and sociologist who has been a political dissident in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. He is an associate of the Transnational Institute.

Reviews

[Kersplebedeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books i have read in a long time; leaning heavily at times on Soviet historian Mikhail Pokrovsky and using the framework of world-systems analysis (though as a backdrop rather than the central focus of every paragraph), Kagarlitsky provides a very readable and engaging history from the time of Rus to the post-Soviet Putin era. This is an excellent history of how Russia's (and the Soviet Union's) history has involved navigating (and often, failing to navigate) its place on the edge of the world system; i.e., in its relationships with countries like Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, and in the ups and downs of the system as a whole. It provides a good model for a country-specific study using a world systems analysis.

At the same time, despite this approach, i was sorry to see that the book did not have a fully global perspective. There was no real discussion of the Soviet Union's relations with socialist countries outside of the COMECON or with the national liberation movements in the Global South. Nothing about Cuba, nothing about the Sino-Soviet split, and even in terms of Afghanistan the country was primarily discussed in terms of its 19th century history. It is not that a book needs to discuss these things, necessarily, but for a book which discusses Russia and the Soviet Union in the world system, it would have been nice to have the omission of this aspect of Soviet foreign relations explained for readers.

[Kamila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo ciekawe i dające do myślenia spojrzenie na historię Rosji pod względem ekonomicznym. Uprzedzam jednak, że dobrze jest sobie samą faktograficzną historię tego państwa odświeżyć przed czytaniem, bo autor jedynie nawiązuje do pewnych wydarzeń, zakładając, że wiemy o czym pisze. Trochę się zawiodłam pod koniec, gdyż okres ZSRR, na którym najbardziej mi zależało, został potraktowany wyjątkowo "po łebkach". Napotkałam też kilka wręcz rażących błędów, np. mimochodem wspomniana "perestrojka z drugiej połowy lat 90-tych" (!). Nawet jeśli autor się pomylił, to korekta powinna to wyłapać, ale widocznie już im się nie chciało albo ktoś sobie przysnął ;) Trochę też śmieszy określenie "koniec epoki Putina" (w sensie końca jego prezydentury w 2008 roku) gdy już wiadomo, że prawdopodobnie zostanie na stanowisku przynajmniej do 2036. Co w sumie pokazuje jak bardzo można się mylić gdy ktoś próbuje komentować bierzące wydarzenia.

[Ulas Ergin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new book by Boris Kagarlitski is an economical history of Russia starting from 7th century. There is really nice analysis in this book, x happened and this had effect y and z which caused t in Russian economy. Every connection is nicely presented in but... i guess the audience is not the average reader but rather academical people since it becomes boring after some point and the volume is 600 pages.

[Rafał Szajchutdinow-Piotrowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historia Rosji w kontekście systemu świata i analizy marksistowskiej. Dobrze napisane, bardzo ciekawe, bardzo polecam!