Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy from Peter the Great to the Abdication of Nicholas II - New Abridged One-Volume Edition

Richard S. Wortman

Published by Princeton University Press 2006

Scenarios of Power

Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy from Peter the Great to the Abdication of Nicholas II - New Abridged One-Volume Edition

Richard S. Wortman

In the series Studies of the Harriman Institute, Columbia University

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400849697

Overview
Contents

About this book

This new and abridged edition of Scenarios of Power is a concise version of Richard Wortman's award-winning study of Russian monarchy from the seventeenth century until 1917. The author breaks new ground by showing how imperial ceremony and imagery were not simply displays of the majesty of the sovereign and his entourage, but also instruments central to the exercise of absolute power in a multinational empire. In developing this interpretation, Wortman presents vivid descriptions of coronations, funerals, parades, trips through the realm, and historical celebrations and reveals how these ceremonies were constructed or reconstructed to fit the political and cultural narratives in the lives and reigns of successive tsars. He describes the upbringing of the heirs as well as their roles in these narratives and relates their experiences to the persistence of absolute monarchy in Russia long after its demise in Europe.

Author / Editor information

Richard S. Wortman is Bryce Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies at Columbia University.

Reviews

Winner of the 2000 George L. Mosse Prize, American Historical Association

Praise for Princeton's original edition: "The formidable variety of evidence Wortman has amassed in this volume for his novel conclusions about the nature of Russian autocracy and downfall of the Romanovs puts Scenarios of Power at the top of the reading list not just for the serious students of Imperial Russia but for all scholars interested in the power of cultural symbols to shape history."---Priscilla Roosevelt, Russian Review

Richard S. Wortman, Winner of the 2007 Distinguished Contributions to Slavic Studies Award, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies

Praise for Princeton's original edition: "A major contribution to the history of Russia, one from which every serious student of that country's tragic destiny will learn."---Abbott Gleason, Journal of Modern History

Co-Winner of the 2006 Etkind Prize, Best Book by a Western Scholar on Russian Literature/Culture, European University at St. Petersburg

Praise for Princeton's original edition: "A brief review can hardly do justice to the wealth of information and sophistication of analysis here; if the outline of Wortman's story is familiar, his telling of it is refreshingly new. . . . Eschewing the kind of treacly romanticism that tends to transform [the tsars] with their many egregious faults into tragic heroes, Wortman enriches our understanding of why they made certain personal choices so ill-suited for the nation they undeniably loved."---Louise McReynolds, Slavic Review

Praise for Princeton's original edition: "[This book] is not just a history of regal rhetoric and rituals but a rich and vivid panorama of the manners and sensibilities, of the educational theories and systems of belief, of the art and literature, the music and the architecture by which the Russian monarchy shaped a cultural language to evoke loyalty, reverence, and awe from its servitors and subjects."---Orlando Figes, Times Literary Supplement

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Illustration Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Prefatory Note Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
Introduction. Scenario of Power Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART ONE. The European Myth
CHAPTER ONE. Signs of Empire Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
CHAPTER TWO. Peter the Great Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
CHAPTER THREE. Olympian Scenarios Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	40
CHAPTER FOUR. The Education of Princes and the Dilemma of Neoclassicism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
CHAPTER FIVE. The Emperor Paul I Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
CHAPTER SIX. The Angel on the Throne Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
CHAPTER SEVEN. Nicholas I Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	120
CHAPTER EIGHT. Epitomes of the Nation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	142
CHAPTER NINE. Parents and Son Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
CHAPTER TEN. Alexander II and the Scenario of Love Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
CHAPTER ELEVEN. The Tsar-Emancipator Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
CHAPTER TWELVE. The Crisis of Autocracy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	219
PART TWO: A National Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
CHAPTER THIRTEEN. The Making of a Russian Tsar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
CHAPTER FOURTEEN. The Inauguration of a National Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
CHAPTER FIFTEEN. The Resurrection of Muscovy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	282
CHAPTER SIXTEEN. The Life and Death of a Russian Tsar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	303
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. Nicholas II as Heir and Husband Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	317
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. The Accession and Coronation of Nicholas II Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	334
CHAPTER NINETEEN. Demonstrations of Godliness Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	347
CHAPTER TWENTY. Nicholas II and the Revolution of 1905 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	361
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE. Historical Celebrations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	377
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO. Nicholas II and World War I Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	397
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	411
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	415
Bibliographical Note Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	449
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	453

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