Imperial Transformations — Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet History
In December 2015, leading international academic Ronald Suny chaired a seminar at HSE St Petersburg on Imperial Transformations – Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet History, which was part of the international research project Comparative Historical Studies of Empire and Nationalism.
The seminar was organised by the HSE-St Petersburg Department of History, the Centre for Historical Research and the international project directed by Ronald Suny - Comparative Historical Studies of Empire and Nationalism. The project focuses on how the experience of the Russian Empire and the USSR relate to the research map on empire and colonialism. It addresses moments of crisis and reformation as a temporary niche when the principles of government by imperial varieties are reconsidered.
The seminar was a continuation of Professor Suny’s cycle of lectures at HSE St Petersburg on ‘Russia’s Empires. Thinking About Empire’ for graduates and undergraduates. The lectures covered various questions about the history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Alexander Semyonov (Head of the Department of History, director of the working group on the Comparative Historical Studies of Empire and Nationalism project) co-chaired the seminar.
The seminar examined questions of post-colonialism, post-imperialism, the concept of democracy, the nation state and empire. During the discussion it became clear that postcolonialism differs from post-imperialism because it means, not just political freedom from empire but freedom of thought. How the Bolsheviks used the concept of democracy to seize power was also examined. This idea should be seen in the context of influential western discourse which argues that communism cannot exist by itself and sooner or later must cease altogether. The question also arose about the connection between the nation state and empire. Importantly, it was said that empires don’t always change into nation states. Nation states can be regarded as miniature empires as they are also based on colonisation and occupation. Nevertheless, we must bear in mind that the nation state and empire are both ideals which do not exist in reality.
Students presented papers at the seminar on literary sources they had read for the course. These included Constructing Primordialism: Old Histories for New Nations, Marina Mogilner, Human Sacrifice in the Name of a Nation: The Religion of Common Blood, Mark von Hagen, Federalisms and Pan-movements: Re-imagining Empire, Alexander Semyonov, Russian Liberalism in Imperial Context, Ilya Gerasimov, Sergey Glebov, Marina Mogilner, The Postimperial Meets the Postcolonial: Russian Historical Experience and the Postcolonial Moment and others.
Professor Suny gave master classes for graduate students on writing academic articles in English, and students and teachers at the Department of History gave papers at the seminar on their research. In particular, Associate Professor I. V. Sablin (HSE St Petersburg History Department) introduced his topic - Governing Post-Imperial Siberia and Mongolia, 1911–1924: Buddhism, Socialism and Nationalism in State and Autonomy Building.
The results of the seminar are that the graduate students’ work in English has been prepared for publication and students on various degrees became acquainted with the latest ideas and concepts in postcolonial and post-imperial studies.
Ivan Sablin
Alexander Semyonov
Ronald Grigor Suny
See also:
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Ten: 'Number, Please?'
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The final episode of the series recounts how men were unable to cope with telephone operator jobs and were replaced by tall and polite young women. However, as telephone networks expanded, the role of the intermediary became unproductive, eventually rendering the switchboard operator profession obsolete due to automation—not the first nor the last time such a thing has happened. As for Alexander Graham Bell, he used the earnings from inventing the telephone to promote science, educate people about the world around us, and pursue new inventions.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Nine: Big Connections
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The ninth episode of the series explores the development of the first long-distance, interstate, and transatlantic telephone lines, which suddenly made people thousands of kilometres away feel as close as if they were in the same room together.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Eight: The Russian Field of Experiments
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The eighth episode of the series recounts how Russia first adapted the telephone for military and logistical purposes, created a shell company headed by a nominal executive for reselling the rights to Western competitors, and intensively developed communication infrastructure in the country's two capitals, making such progress that Vladimir Lenin insisted on capturing and maintaining control of telephone exchanges at all costs.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Seven: German Efficiency
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The seventh episode in the series recounts the story of German bureaucrats, who proved to be the most astute in Europe by ensuring effective telephony first for themselves and subsequently for all major cities in Germany. However, even there, the government's dominant role over the free market slowed down the adoption of the new technology.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Six: The Telephone's Misadventures in France
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The sixth episode of the series recounts events in France when the private owner of the telephone network was compelled to sell it to the government at a knockdown price, and the impact it had on the development of communications in the country. Spoiler alert: the impact, naturally, was detrimental.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Five: From the US Free Market to Conservative Britain
In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The fifth episode of the series chronicles the early experiences of the telegraph and telephone in Great Britain, shedding light on the challenges they faced, and explores the adverse impact of excessive government regulation and nationalisation on the evolution of telecommunications.
Peacocks, Pepper, and Petrol: The Early History of Imports from Asia
Petroleum for equine care, wood oil for lighting, sandalwood for Easter celebrations, and lemons and olives for entertaining unexpected guests. Russian monasteries often used these and other eastern goods in the period leading up to and during the reign of Peter the Great. Analysing their account books leads to a revision of the traditional assumptions about the primary consumers of oriental goods in Russia. These consumers, in addition to the royal and aristocratic circles, included monastery estates, as discussed in the paper ‘“Three altyns worth of petroleum…”: Oriental goods in Russia at the second half of the 17th and early 18th century’ by historian Arthur Mustafin of HSE University. Based on his paper, IQ.HSE explores the types of goods that were shipped from the East to Russia in the latter half of the 17th to the early 18th century, including the routes and purposes of these shipments.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Four: David the Start-up Versus the Corporate Goliath
The history of the invention of telephony reads like a captivating detective novel, but even more intriguing are the events that contributed to the worldwide adoption of this technology. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The fourth episode of the series recounts the story of the fledgling start-up's confrontation with hordes of patent trolls and its subsequent victory in a full-blown corporate war against the largest telecommunications company of the late 19th century.
‘In Search of the Key to the Past’: Students of HSE Art and Design School in Nizhny Novgorod Develop Collection of Souvenirs
The HSE Art and Design School in Nizhny Novgorod, together with the ‘Protected Quarters’ project to revive Nizhny Novgorod’s historical territories, have carried out the ‘Timeless’ creative project, which included a design laboratory and an educational programme. As a result of the creative workshop, students made concepts for souvenir products based on the local identity.
How the Telephone Conquered the World. Episode Three: Connecting People
Today, we can make a telephone call to anyone, anywhere in the world—but this was not always the case. In this series of columns on IQ.HSE, Anton Basov, HSE Faculty of Computer Science editor, discusses how telephones have become an integral part of our everyday life. The third episode focuses on the evolution of telephone connections, the first subscribers, and the history of the telephone directory.