Russia and the World (HIST90037)

This subject explores the history of Russia’s relations with the rest of the world, from Peter the Great’s attempt to open a ‘window onto the West’ through to President Vladimir Putin’s bid to mount a Russian challenge to the liberal hegemonic global order today.

Students will gain an understanding of the complex and dramatic history of Russia’s relationship with its neighbours and with ‘the West’, and of the ongoing process of defining Russia’s identity and place in the region and the world. Topics to be investigated include:

• Change and continuity in Russian foreign policy
• The connections between Russian foreign and domestic policies
• The history of Russian perspectives on (& challenges to) the international order (including the Soviet challenge to traditional diplomacy; and the current use of propaganda as a soft power foreign policy tool in the digital age)
• The historical context of the current war in Ukraine and other modern conflicts involving Russia (including the Cold War, and World War Two).