Western Scholars On The Great Reforms In Russia Since The Cold War

Serfdom existed in Russia for hundreds of years.During the period,serfdom deeply affected Russian rural society,and became a foundation for Russian regime.The Great Reforms aimed at abolishing serfdom implemented in the 1860s and 1870s,which caused a“massive shock”to traditional Russian landlord-peasant relationships.The Great Reforms,one of the most important events in Russian history in the 18^thh and 20^th century,was considered as an important entry point to explore the process of Russian historical development,and also together with Peter the Great?s reforms,Catherine the Great?s reforms,1905 Revolution,February Revolution and October Revolution constituted the classic issues in the global studies of Russian history.Without doubt,historical studies in the West feature on a long-standing tradition,and have developed rapidly since the 20^th century.The rise and fall of Western research on the Great Reforms is not only a microcosm of the development of Western historiography,but also the embodiment of the changes of American-Soviet relations since the Cold War.The dissertation will summarize the views of Anglo-American scholars on the causes,impetuses and effects of the Great Reforms,to reveal the theoretical transformation and structural shifts of Russianists in the West since the Cold War from the microscopic point of view.On this basis,the dissertation will compare the differences between Russian historical studies in the West and Soviet/Russia,and sum up the important reference significance of Russian historical studies in the West on Chinese scholars,to further strengthen and deepen our understanding of Russian History,American History,Cold War History and Western History Theories,and finally promote the development of Russian historical studies in the PRC.The dissertation is divided into three sections,i.e.introduction,main body and conclusion.The introduction analyzes the significance of the subject,and presents the contents,overview,methods and limitations of the research.The main body consists of five chapters.Chapter One briefly introduces how Russian studies developed in the USA and theoretical transformation of Russian historical studies since the Cold War.The first recorded evidence of Americans beginning to take an interest in Russia could date back to the 1880s.After the First World War and the 1917 Russian Revolution,Americans felt that it was necessary and urgent to do serious research on Russian.However,Russian studies in the USA is a field of study that first developed during the Cold War.The periodization of post-war American Russian studies could be based on a generational principle.Three generational scholars respectively upheld the paradigms of Western modernization theory and traditional political history,modernization theory and new social history,and new cultural history and new imperial history.Two historical issues on Russia could reflect such basic structural shifts of Russianists.,one is the 1917 Russian Revolution,the other is the Great Reforms.Chapter Two analyzes the research methods and main viewpoints of Anglo-American scholars on the level of economic development,and landlord-peasant relationship before the Emancipation,and the impetuses of the 1861Reform.When investigating the causes of the abolition of serfdom in Russia,Anglo-American were based on various historical theories and methodologies,such as modernization theory,new social history,proto-industrialization theory,new economic history,moral economy,bureaucratic theory and case study,etc.The scholars demonstrated the important roles played by Russian state apparatus and senior bureaucrats,analyzed the relationship between the landlords and peasants under the serfdom,and also revised some of Soviet official historical interpretations.Chapter Three analyzes the research methods and main viewpoints of Anglo-American scholars on the bureaucratic phenomena around the Great Reforms.Based on modernization theory and 1917 Paradigm,the scholars combined the theories in social science and historical research methods,to create a research system concerning Political History of Russia.They provided insights into the evolution of Russian civil service in the 19^th century,affirmed the important roles played by“enlightened bureaucrats”in the process of Russian modernization,analyzed the factional and ministerial conflicts in Tsarist bureaucracy,and explored the relationship between the state and society.Chapter Four analyzes the research methods and main viewpoints of Anglo-American scholars on the economic conditions and economic differentiation of Russian peasants in the countryside in 1861-1917.Based on macroscopic and microscopic approaches,Anglo-American scholars had a positive attitude toward the living standards of the peasants.They employed a variety of measures that assessed the economic conditions of the peasants macroscopically,such as land redemption arrears,indirect tax receipts,cereal outputs,wage,income,and relief measures.They also combined integrated and case studies microscopically,,to explore the diversities and causes of the economic conditions of the peasants,and analyze the effects of family life cycle on the living standards of the peasants,while reject the theory of Class Struggle.Chapter Five analyzes the research methods and main viewpoints of Anglo-American scholars concerning the social and cultural effects of the Great Reforms on Russian peasants.In the framework of peasant studies,Anglo-American scholars used modernization theory,and the methodologies of new social history and new cultural history,to explore the inner life of Russian land communes,the situation of Russian rural justice,and the relationship between rural culture and urban culture.They analyzed the status and roles of Russian peasants in the process of modernization,compared the images of Russian peasants in the minds of Russian elites with the real images of Russian peasants,and tried to revise the traditional discourse system of Russian elites in the late 19^th and early 20^th century.The conclusion shows that the rise and fall of Western research on the Great Reforms is a microcosm of the changes of American-Soviet relations since the Cold War and the development of Western historiography;the research achievements from the top down and from the bottom up were both faced with limitations;Western historiography characterized by focusing on exploring the daily lives of the lower classes and constructing an elaborate theoretical system,will be a valuable reference for Russian historical studies in the PRC.