INTRODUCTION - Russia: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 1

INTRODUCTION
The inclusion of Russia in the present reference series on European nations
from the Renaissance to the present reflects the belief that Russia is indeed a
European nation, an assumption that many readers may take for granted but
which has been debated for centuries. For while there may be important
nuances in terms of how other present and former nations represented in this
series, such as Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, Italy, France, Germany, Spain,
and Portugal, have defined their relationship to the idea of Europe, their mem-
bership in the family of European nations has never been questioned to the
extent that it has with regard to Russia. Stretching from the Baltic Sea to the
Pacific Ocean across the vast Eurasian landmass, Russia has developed over the
centuries at the periphery of the geographical, political, and cultural construct
that we call Europe—sometimes welcome in the European family of nations,
sometimes not. From the earliest accounts of European travelers to the Mus-
covite court to present-day discussions about Russia's future after communism,
Western observers have debated the extent to which Russia is a part of Europe
or something different. To be sure, Russians themselves have questioned their
own identity with equal, if not greater, intensity and persistence. The mid-19th
century intellectual debates between Russian Slavophiles and Westernizers
were but one instance of a questioning that goes back to the early modern
period and forward to the present day.
The idea that Russia is not European begins with the perception of a different
historical development. Those seeking to place Russia outside of the European
tradition can point to a different historical development marked by a heritage
shaped by allegiance to Byzantine Christianity, two to three centuries of Mongol
rule, and the absence of a Renaissance. In fact, the subtitle of the European
Nations series, “from the Renaissance to the present,” seems least applicable to a
nation that was beginning to shake off dependence on Asian foreign rule roughly
at the same time that western Europe was challenging the received wisdom of its
medieval civilization. They also can point to the development in subsequent cen-
turies of an autocracy based on a social foundation of serfdom that grew more
rather than less restrictive as western European serfdom was beginning to recede.
Finally, they can point to the absence of a strong capitalist tradition based on an
independent, politically assertive middle class, and as a clincher they can point
to the unique experience of Soviet communism in the 20th century.
At times, however, the differences between Russia and its European neigh-
bors seem quantitative rather than qualitative, a product of the huge disparities