Peasants in Russia from Serfdom to Stalin: Accommodation, Survival, Resistance

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The peasantry accounted for the large majority of the Russian population during the Imperialist and Stalinist periods it is, for the most part, how people lived. Peasants in Russia from Serfdom to Stalin provides a comprehensive, realistic examination of peasant life in Russia during both these eras and the legacy this left in the post-Soviet era. The book paints a full picture of peasant involvement in commerce and local political life and, through Boris Gorshkovs original ecology paradigm for understanding peasant life, offers new perspectives on the Russian peasantry under serfdom and the emancipation. Incorporating recent scholarship, including Russian and non-Russian texts, along with classic studies, Gorshkov explores the complex interrelationships between the physical environment, peasant economic and social practices, culture, state policies and lord-peasant relations. He goes on to analyze peasant economic activities, including agriculture and livestock, social activities and the functioning of peasant social and political institutions within the context of these interrelationships. Further reading lists, study questions, tables, maps, primary source extracts and images are also included to support and enhance the text wherever possible. Peasants in Russia from Serfdom to Stalin is the crucial survey of a key topic in modern Russian history for students and scholars alike.

Reviews

[An] excellent introductory read, often presented in a lively fashion, and demonstrating a remarkable ability to succinctly describe what were sometimes enormously complicated processes or developments All in all, the portrait of daily life, micro-economic practices, family relations, and childhood, is vivid and persuasive. The author should be congratulated for undertaking such a bold enterprise and daring to challenge the standards of quibbling academics in order to reach a wider audience. * Canadian Journal of History *
[A] truly laudable achievement in the academic literature on the Russian peasantry. Gorshkovs comprehensive yet brief and readable survey of this profoundly complex topic provides a brilliant introduction for the lay reader and an instructive summary for the specialist. This book should be considered a necessary resource for any course or study on modern Russian history or society. * Revolutionary Russia *
[Gorshkov] makes a very strong case that non-agricultural labour was not just an add-on to the peasant economy, but an intrinsic part of it ... [there is] overall value of his study. * Social History *
Gorshkovs approach [to the Russian peasantry], which cuts through older stereotypes, is a real strength of this book. * The American Historical Review *
In this engrossing book, Boris Gorshkov provides both an accessible introduction to peasant culture and the village economy and a sweeping history of the countryside during the crucial period when peasants grappled with economic and political revolutions that transformed their lifestyle. For readers interested in modern Russian history, this book is a perfect place to start. * Aaron Retish, Associate Professor, Wayne State University, USA *

Author Bio

Boris B Gorshkov is Lecturer in History at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA. He is the author of Russias Factory Children, Society, and the State: Childhood, Apprenticeship and Law, 1800-1917 (2009) and A Life under Russian Serfdom: Memoirs of Savva Dmitrievich Purlevskii, 1800-68 (2005).