Regions of the Russian Empire. Identity, representation, (on) value

“Region” is one of those fundamental concepts that elude brief and final definitions. It often seems to us that the regions are something existing objectively, but with a more careful examination it turns out that many of them appear and change thanks to the collective imagination. For all the conventions of the concept of “region”, neither the economy, nor geography, nor history can do without it. Is it possible, for example, to study Russia of the 19th century as imperial space, without considering the features of Siberia, Don, Transcaucasia or the Black Sea? According to the authors of this book, the region is not just the territory marked on the map, or the platform on which a variety of events unfold, this is the subject of history that can offer his own view of the past and future of the country. How are the regions created? What processes form and change them? What is the basis of the perception of the territory - on a natural landscape or economic structure, cultural ties or the following political will? Based on such questions, the book covers the history of Russia from the 1760s to the 1910s. Among the considered regions, both central Russia and the numerous outskirts of the empire are represented-the North-Western Territory, the Caucasus, the Donskoy army, the Orenburg Territory and the Far East.
compilers: E. Boltunova, V. Sanderland