Russia’s Institutional History

Instructor: Prof. Dmitry Goncharov (Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg)

Dates/Time: TBA

Course Description.
This interdisciplinary course is designed to provide students with the necessary theoretical and
empirical background for the study of Russian institutional history. It will cover a broad set of
issues, including concept of modernity and discussion on the alternative forms of modernization,
structure of the Russian “dual” state and society, Russian totalitarianism, and notion of Russia as
an anti-modern society. The course’ ultimate ambition is to suggest an explanatory framework
capable of capturing nature and peculiarities of the Russian societal evolution in the modern era.

Course duration: 1 week. The course consists of 8 classes (2 academic hours each). They are
divided between lectures and seminar discussions. Academic control forms are home
assignments and the written test.

Course structure and plan.

Contact Contact hours

hours, Seminar
Lectures
total discussions
Classes 1-2 Multiple modernities? 2 2
Classes 3-4 Russia as a dual state and society 2 2
Classes 5-6 Totalitarian Russia 2 2
Classes 7-8 Russia as anti-modern society 2 2
Total 16 8 8

Introductory readings:
Pipes R. Russia Under the Old Regime. 2nd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.