John P. LeDonne's Books

The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831

By: John P. LeDonne

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The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831

By: John P. LeDonne

At its height, the Russian empire covered eleven time zones and stretched from Scandinavia to the Pacific Ocean. Arguing against the traditional historical view that Russia, surrounded and threatened by enemies, was always on the defensive, John P. LeDonne contends that Russia developed a long-term strategy not in response to immediate threats but in line with its own expansionist urges to control the Eurasian Heartland. LeDonne narrates how the government from Moscow and Petersburg expanded the empire by deploying its army as well as by extending its patronage to frontier societies in return for their serving the interests of the empire. He considers three theaters on which the Russians expanded: the Western (Baltic, Germany, Poland); the Southern (Ottoman and Persian Empires); and the Eastern (China, Siberia, Central Asia). In his analysis of military power, he weighs the role of geography and locale, as well as economic issues, in the evolution of a larger imperial strategy. Rather than viewing Russia as peripheral to European Great Power politics, LeDonne makes a powerful case for Russia as an expansionist, militaristic, and authoritarian regime that challenged the great states and empires of its time.

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Page Count

278

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195161009

ISBN 13

9780195161007

Absolutism and Ruling Class

The Formation of the Russian Political Order, 1700-1825

By: John P. LeDonne

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Absolutism and Ruling Class

The Formation of the Russian Political Order, 1700-1825

By: John P. LeDonne

This is the first comprehensive examination of the Russian ruling elite and its political institutions during an important period of state building, from the emergence of Russia on the stage of world politics around 1700 to the consolidation of its position after the victory over Napoleon. Instead of focusing on the great rulers of the period--Peter, Catherine, and Alexander--the work examines the nobility which alone could make their power effective. LeDonne not only gives a full chronological account of the development of bureaucratic, military, economic, and political institutions in Russia during this period, but also skillfully analyzes the ways in which local agencies and the ruling class exercised control and shared power with the absolute monarchs.

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Page Count

395

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

019506805X

ISBN 13

9780195068054

Forging a Unitary State

Russia’s Management of the Eurasian Space, 1650–1850

By: John P. LeDonne

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Forging a Unitary State

Russia’s Management of the Eurasian Space, 1650–1850

By: John P. LeDonne

Covering two centuries of Russian history, Forging a Unitary State is a comprehensive account of the creation of what is commonly known as the "Russian Empire," from Poland to Siberia. In this book, John P. LeDonne demonstrates that the so-called empire was, for the most part, a unitary state, defined by an obsessive emphasis on centralization and uniformity. The standardization of local administration, the judicial system, tax regime, and commercial policy were carried out slowly but systematically over eight generations, in the hope of integrating people on the periphery into the Russian political and social hierarchy. The ultimate goal of Russian policy was to create a "Fortress Empire" consisting of a huge Russian unitary state flanked by a few peripheral territories, such as Finland, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia. Additional peripheral states, such as Sweden, Turkey, and Persia, would guarantee the security of this "Fortress Empire," and the management of Eurasian territory. LeDonne’s provocative argument is supported by a careful comparative study of Russian expansion along its western, southern, and eastern borders, drawing on vital but under-studied administrative evidence. Forging a Unitary State is an essential resource for those interested in the long history of Russian expansionism.

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Page Count

682

Publisher

University of Toronto Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1487533322

ISBN 13

9781487533328

Russia in the Time of Cholera

Disease under Romanovs and Soviets

By: John P. Davis

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Russia in the Time of Cholera

Disease under Romanovs and Soviets

By: John P. Davis

As the nineteenth century drew to a close and epidemics in western Europe were waning, the deadly cholera vibrio continued to wreak havoc in Russia, outlasting the Romanovs. Scholars have since argued that cholera eventually fell prey to better sanitation and strict quarantine under the Soviets, citing as evidence imperial mismanagement, a `backward' tsarist medical system and physicians' anachronistic environmental interpretations of the disease. Drawing on extensive archival research and the so-called `material turn' in historiography, however, John P. Davis here demonstrates that Romanov-era physicians' environmental approach to disease was not ill-grounded, nor a consequence of neo-liberal or populist political leanings, but born of pragmatic scientific considerations. The physicians confronted cholera in a broad and sophisticated way, essentially laying the foundations for the system of public health that the Soviets successfully used to defeat cholera during the New Economic Policy (1922-1928). By focusing for the first time on the conclusion of the cholera epoch in Russia, Davis adds an indispensable layer of nuance to the existing conception of Romanov Russia and its complicated legacy in the Soviet period.

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Page Count

334

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

178673365X

ISBN 13

9781786733658

Ruling Russia

Politics and Administration in the Age of Absolutism, 1762-1796

By: John P. LeDonne

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Ruling Russia

Politics and Administration in the Age of Absolutism, 1762-1796

By: John P. LeDonne

This book explores thoroughly the reforms of Russian administration from 1775 to 1785, this work also reaches beyond Catherine's reign to challenge established opinions on the nature of eighteenth-century Russian government and the autocracy of the tsars. Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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Page Count

428

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1400855780

ISBN 13

9781400855780

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Updated Edition)

By: John J. Mearsheimer

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The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Updated Edition)

By: John J. Mearsheimer

A superb book.…Mearsheimer has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the behavior of great powers."—Barry R. Posen, The National Interest The updated edition of this classic treatise on the behavior of great powers takes a penetrating look at the question likely to dominate international relations in the twenty-first century: Can China rise peacefully? In clear, eloquent prose, John Mearsheimer explains why the answer is no: a rising China will seek to dominate Asia, while the United States, determined to remain the world's sole regional hegemon, will go to great lengths to prevent that from happening. The tragedy of great power politics is inescapable.

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Page Count

572

Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

0393076245

ISBN 13

9780393076240

Absolutism and Ruling Class

The Formation of the Russian Political Order, 1700-1825

By: John P. LeDonne

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Absolutism and Ruling Class

The Formation of the Russian Political Order, 1700-1825

By: John P. LeDonne

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395

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

019506805X

ISBN 13

9780195068054

The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831

By: John P. LeDonne

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The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831

By: John P. LeDonne

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278

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Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195161009

ISBN 13

9780195161007

The Russian Empire and the World, 1700-1917

The Geopolitics of Expansion and Containment

By: John P. LeDonne

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The Russian Empire and the World, 1700-1917

The Geopolitics of Expansion and Containment

By: John P. LeDonne

Both an historical survey of Russia's expansion during the Imperial Period (1700--1917) and a geopolitical interpretation of its motive and goals, this text also analyzes the policies to contain that expansion on a global scale. The Russian Empire and The World postulates the existence of a permanent geopolitical framework called the Heartland within which a Russian core area fought for hegemony. The text brings together various strands of Russian foreign policy before 1917, showing the consistency and importance of the policy's purpose and methods. It draws valuable lessons to help readers understand Soviet foreign policy and the renewed pressures Russia faces to restore its position within the Heartland, making this an ideal text for courses in Russian History, International Relations, and Political Science. Ranging from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the end of World War I, The Russian Empire and The World offers the most successful explanation as to how, despite reversals and limitations, Russia succeeded in becoming the world's largest contiguous land empire in European history.

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Page Count

394

Publisher

Oxford University Press on Demand

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195109279

ISBN 13

9780195109276

Book's by John P. LeDonne

The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831

The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831

Absolutism and Ruling Class

Absolutism and Ruling Class

Forging a Unitary State

Forging a Unitary State

Russia in the Time of Cholera

Russia in the Time of Cholera

Ruling Russia

Ruling Russia

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Updated Edition)

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Updated Edition)

Absolutism and Ruling Class

Absolutism and Ruling Class

The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831

The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831

The Russian Empire and the World, 1700-1917

The Russian Empire and the World, 1700-1917

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