The Steppe and Its Empires: The Russian Empire and Its Eurasian Counterparts (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780300284386)

A broad comparative study that highlights the importance of the Eurasian steppe and its impact on the arc of Russian history

Throughout its existence, Russia has been a hybrid empire shaped by both Europe and Asia. Focusing on the formation of the Russian state between the sixteenth and the mid-nineteenth centuries, renowned historian Michael Khodarkovsky examines Russia's structural similarities with its neighbors in Asia--the Ottoman, Persian, Mughal, and Chinese empires. While most historians have noted the transformations that brought Russia closer to modern European societies, the Russian empire's shared characteristics with its non-European counterparts remain poorly understood.

Khodarkovsky reveals the critical role of the Eurasian steppe in the formation of the empires, whose military-social institutions and political culture were distinctly different from those of the West. Ultimately, he argues that Russia is best understood as a hybrid Eurasian empire whose steppe origins and fluid frontiers propelled its relentless expansion, producing a vastly diverse empire with a blurred sense of national identity.

Author: Michael Khodarkovsky
ISBN-10: 0300284381
ISBN-13: 9780300284386
Publisher: Yale University Press
Language: English
Published: 05/05/2026
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover