ABSTRACT
How well is early modern Russian history integrated into world-history constructs, as formulated by generalists? The answer is that it is not well integrated at all. Either simplistic versions of Russian society and culture are presented in big-picture schemas and world-history textbooks or little or no reference to early modern Russia is made. The basic problem is that grand schemas are formulated on the basis of European history or on what the grand schemists think European history is. They then try to fit Russian history into that conceptual framework and find Russian history, not their grand schemas, wanting. The problem is compounded by the tendency of Russian history specialists to approach their field as though it were not interconnected with the rest of the world but an entity unto itself. In what follows, I discuss three salient works, each from a different category of world-history writing, that attempt to incorporate early modern Russia history. Of necessity, my discussion is selective and broad-stroked, going into some depth in critiquing each work’s presentation of early modern Russia. I have chosen each work carefully according to what represents the best attempt of its category.
