The title of this connection is a reference to the official title of the Russian Tsars, who were known not as ruler of Russia but as Emperor or Empress of All the Russias. The connection encourages students to explore the explicitly interconnected nature of culture, society and politics throughout Russian history.
For students interested mainly in connecting literature, we also offer a parallel connection 23019, Russia: Literature, History, Politics.
Certain key themes inform Russian culture just as they affect the whole of Russian History and Politics: Russian identity between East and West; Russia as a centralized, autocratic power, accompanied by corruption and repression but also by counterpoints of artistic expression and dissent; Russia alternating between national movements and wholesale borrowings of outside ideas and culture; and the perpetual question of how the past shapes the present.
This connection can be either a two-course or a three-course connection.
To complete this connection, students will proceed by area, choosing one course from each of the areas represented: History, Humanities, and Social Sciences.