Summary of Abraham Ascher's Russia

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The debate between Russia’s Westerners and Slavophiles has been going on for over a century and a half. The Westerners believed that Russia was part of Western European civilization, while the Slavophiles believed that Russia had unique cultural traditions that should not be changed. #2 The history of Russia is extremely complex, and it is difficult to come up with a consensus on many of the country’s past events. The country was isolated from Western Europe during the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, and it remained largely unaffected by the Protestant Reformation, the scientific revolution, and the Enlightenment in the sixteenth century. #3 Russia differed from most European countries in several respects. The Industrial Revolution did not take place in Russia until late in the nineteenth century, and serfdom was established in 1649 when a new Code of Law reaffirmed the subservient condition of peasants. #4 By the early twentieth century, Russia appeared to many within the elite to be a clumsy giant. The country was blessed with abundant natural resources, but they were unevenly distributed throughout the land.