Primary Sources

Russia's Imperial Presence

Amanat, Abbas. “‘Russian Intrusion into the Guarded Domain:’ Reflections of a Qajar Statesman on European Expansion.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 113, no. 1 (1993): 35–56.

Atkinson, Lucy. Recollections of the Tatar Steppes and Their Inhabitants. John Murray, 1863. 

Beisembiev, Timur K., trans., and ed. The Life of ʻAlimqul-A Native Chronicle of Nineteenth Century Central Asia. Routledge, 2015. ISBN: 9781138862333. 

Bell, James Stanislaus. Journal of a Residence in Circassia During the Years 1837, 1838, and 1839, Volume I. Edward Moxon, 1840.

— — —. Journal of a Residence in Circassia During the Years 1837, 1838, and 1839, Volume II.  Edward Moxon, 1840.

Bell, John. A Journey from St. Petersburg to Pekin, 1719–22. Edinburgh University, 1965. 

Bryce, James. Transcaucasia and Ararat: Being Notes of a Vacation Tour in the Autumn of 1876. Macmillan, 1877.

Coxe, William. Account of the Russian Discoveries between Asia and America to which are Added, the Conquest of Siberia, and the History of the Transactions and Commerce between Russia and China. T. Cadell, 1780. 

— — —. Travels into Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, Interspersed with Historical Relations and Political Inquiries. Palala Press, 2016. ISBN: 9781354932209.

Joubert, Carl. The Truth about the Tsar and the Present State of Russia. Eveleigh Nash, 1905. (Largely about the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.)

Muraviev, Nikolai. Journey to Khiva through the Turcoman Country: 1819–20. Foreign Department Press, 1871.

Nefedkin, Alexander K. Warfare of the Chukchi (Mid-17th to Early 20th Century). Translated by Richard L. Bland. U.S. Department of the Interior, 2014.

Orbach, Alexander, and John Klier. “The Pogroms of 1881–1882,” and “The Response from St. Petersburg Jewry.” In Perspectives on the 1881–1882 Pogroms in Russia. Russian and East European Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh, 1984.

Paksoy, Hasan B., ed. Central Asian Monuments. Isis Press, 1992. ISBN: 9789754280333. 

Pallas, Peter Simon. Travels through the Southern Provinces of the Russian Empire in the Years 1793 and 1794, Volume I. T. N. Longman & O. Rees, etc., 1802.

— — —. Travels through the Southern Provinces of the Russian Empire in the Years 1793 and 1794, Volume II. T. N. Longman & O. Rees, etc., 1803.

— — —, Robert Johnston, and William Miller. Views of 18th Century Russia: Costumes, History, Customs. Portland House, 1990. ISBN: 9780517699492. 

Portnoy, Samuel A., trans., and ed. The Memoirs of Vladimir Medem: The Life and Soul of a Legendary Jewish Socialist. Ktav Pub & Distributors Inc., 1979. ISBN: 9780870683329. 

Sanders, Thomas, Ernest Tucker, and Gary Hamburg, trans., and eds. Russian-Muslim Confrontation in the Caucasus: Alternative Visions of the Conflict Between Imam Shamil and the Russians, 1830–1859.  Routledge, 2010. [Preview with Google Books] (Includes Tolstoy’s Hadji Murat, and The Shining of Daghestani Swords in Certain Campaigns of Shamil (Selected Passages), by Muhammad Tahir al-Qarakhi).

Sparks, Jared. Memoirs of the Life and Travels of John Ledyard: From His Journals and Correspondence. Henry Colburn, 1828. (On this source: Gray, Edward G. “Visions of Another Empire: John Ledyard, an American Traveler Across the Russian Empire, 1787–1788.” Journal of the Early Republic 24: no. 3 (2004): 347–80.)

Turkestan Album. Prints and Photographs Reading Room, The Library of Congress. (The album provides “a visual survey of Central Asia from the perspective of the Russian imperial government that took control of the area in the 1850s and 1860s. About 1,200 photographs, with some architectural plans, watercolor drawings, and maps, are arranged in four parts.")

Urussov, Serge Dmitrievich. Memoirs of a Russian Governor: Prince Serge Dmitriyevich Urussov. Translated by Herman Rosenthal. Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1908. (Account includes descriptions of anti-Jewish pogroms in Moldavia.)

Vygodskaia, Anna Pavlovna. The Story of a Life: Memoirs of a Young Jewish Woman in the Russian Empire. Translated and edited by Eugene M. Avrutin and Robert H. Greene. Northern Illinois University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780875806716. [Preview with Google Books]

Course Info

As Taught In
Fall 2019
Learning Resource Types
Written Assignments