A History of the Urals: Russia's Crucible from Early Empire to the Post-Soviet Era

Description

The Urals are best known as the boundary between Europe and Asia. A History of the Urals demonstrates the region's importance in its own right, as a crucible of Russia's defence industry in particular. In the first English-language book to explore the subject fully, Paul Dukes examines the region's contribution to the power of the state in tsarist, Soviet and post-Soviet times, offering a refreshing antidote to Moscow-centric interpretations of Russian history. The book contextualises more recent periods with chapters on the earlier years of the Urals and covers the key environmental as well as economic, political and cultural themes. The book contains illustrations and maps, plus lists of books and websites, as aids to further research and understanding of the subject. A History of the Urals is an important book that provides new and valuable insights for all students of Russian history.

Paul Dukes is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Aberdeen, UK. He has held visiting appointments at Auckland University, New Zealand, and Cornell University, USA. The best known of his many publications include A History of Russia c.882-1996: Medieval, Modern, Contemporary (1997) and The Making of Russian Absolutism 1613-1801 (1990). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and sits on the Editorial Advisory Board of History Today.

Paul Dukes' book places the economic development of the Urals into the overall context of the political and social development of Russia and the Soviet Union with great effectiveness ... [A] perceptive book. * History Today * As a tightly formed, easily referenced [work] ... and in adding to the diversity of regional Russian historiography, [this book] is a valuable addition to the field for students and researchers. * Journal of European Studies * A skillful synthesis that packs much information into a relatively short volume and fleshes out the narrative with generous examples and quantitative data ... General readers and undergraduates will find the work accessible and enjoyable, but professional historians and graduate students also will discover much that is new. * The Russian Review * The first of its kind in English, this book offers an accessible history of the Urals region. Critical of the tendency to focus on the Urals' supposed role as frontier between Europe and Asia, Dukes (Aberdeen) emphasizes the value of studying the region as 'a significant part of the planet as a whole' and key component of Russian history ... Dukes provides sufficient background coverage of major events in Russian history to make his narrative comprehensible to general readers, while also including enlightening discussion of the experiences of those who called the Urals home. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. * CHOICE * "The first of its kind in English, this book offers an accessible history of the Urals region. Critical of the tendency to focus on the Urals' supposed role as frontier between Europe and Asia, Dukes (Aberdeen) emphasizes the value of studying the region as "a significant part of the planet as a whole" and key component of Russian history. The Urals region, Dukes argues, was "Russia's crucible," where the extraction and refining of minerals not only helped to fuel the Russian economy and military from the 18th century onward, but also helped to forge a "mining-industrial culture" fundamental to the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Russian Federation alike. He devotes most attention to the role of the state in shaping the region, which, he argues, had "a distinctive identity largely molded by the central government's realization of the importance of the Urals to the security and strength of the state." Dukes provides sufficient background coverage of major events in Russian history to make his narrative comprehensible to general readers, while also including enlightening discussion of the experiences of those who called the Urals home. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." * CHOICE * ... A clear and comprehensive chronological account of the old industrial heartland of Russia. * European History Quarterly * I can only recommend to everyone interested in Russian history to include [A History of the Urals] into the list of mustread books without delay. * Jahrbucher fur Geschichte Osteuropas * In this new book, renowned historian Paul Dukes brings his deep understanding of Russia's past to the task of chronicling the history of the Urals, and he succeeds brilliantly. Dukes has written a fascinating page-turner that focuses on the Urals region itself, not just the usual story of the relationship of "Russia's Crucible" to the history of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Dukes is equally comfortable recounting the early modern history of the Urals and its experience under Bolshevik rule -- including the Second World War, during which the Urals played a vital role in the survival of the USSR and its ultimate victory over Nazi Germany. Dukes carefully examines the Urals during the break-up of the Soviet Union and the tumultuous presidency of Boris Yeltsin, a local boy who made good. The book ends with thoughtful comments about the Urals at the dawn of the 21st century. I had trouble putting this excellent, well-researched and well-written book down. * Chester Dunning, Professor of History, Texas A&M University, USA * In this ground-breaking work Dukes demonstrates conclusively that the Ural region is not simply the traditional geographical border between European and Asiatic Russia, but has also played an as yet insufficiently recognized role as a crucial area in the whole economic, social, technological and military history of Tsarist, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. A unique, seminal piece of scholarship. * Alan Wood, formerly Senior Lecturer in Russian History, Lancaster University, UK * This is the work of an historian at the very height of his powers. In it Paul Dukes traces the history of the Urals as a distinctive region, rather than as a mere dividing line between Europe and Asia, and offers a colourful and original portrait of the Urals' history, culture and economy, as well as the vital role that this 'crucible' played in the development of the Russian and Soviet empires - particularly their industrial might. It is the first work on its subject in English and will be of interest to anyone concerned with what has forged Russia. * Jonathan Smele, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History, Queen Mary, University of London, UK. *