BA History and Sociology / Course details

This course unit is concerned with the upheavals Russia has experienced over the past century.  It explores the creation, development and subsequent disintegration of the Soviet Union; and the emergence of a new Russia from the wreckage of the world’s first socialist state. Emphasis is placed on key political, social and cultural developments, seen within the context of modern Russian and, more broadly, modern European history.

•    to help students develop a solid understanding of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian history;
•    to provide students with the necessary analytical skills to achieve this understanding;
•    to develop students’ skills at analysing and understanding primary sources;
•    to develop students’ skills at presenting cogent arguments, both in writing and orally.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

•    make effective use of relevant resources;  
•    critically evaluate different approaches to and interpretations of events in Russian history;
•    present their written work in a coherent, well-structured and well-articulated form;
•    present and defend their views orally;
•    manage their time effectively.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

•    understand the history of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia;
•    understand the upheavals Russia has experienced in the last century; 
•    make a clear differentiation between different  periods of  Soviet and post-Soviet Russian history;  
•    understand the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union;
•    understand  the form of capitalism which is emerging in post- Soviet Russia, and how and why  it differs from its Western counterparts. 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

•    explore a variety of texts on Soviet and post-Soviet history;
•    differentiate between varying interpretations of historical events;
•    understand the Marxist ideas that underpinned Soviet social and political attitudes and approaches;
•    understand the concept of ideology and how it differs from one society to the next.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

•    analyse and understand primary and secondary sources of various types;
•    make effective use of primary and secondary sources to develop cogent arguments, both in writing and orally;
•    present their written work in a coherent, well-structured and well-articulated form;
•    work successfully in groups with others.

•    the ability to gather, synthesise and organise material from a  variety of sources and to critically evaluate their significance;
•    the ability to construct and defend arguments, both in writing and orally;
•    the ability to work in a team, recognising different opinions and approaches and using them to best advantage;
•    the ability to work to deadlines.

Assessment task:

Primary Source Analysis - 40%

Essay - 60%

1. Peter Kenez, A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to its Legacy, 3rd edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016)
2. Richard Sakwa, Russian Politics and Society, 4th edition (London: Routledge, 2008)
3. Robert Service, The Penguin History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty First Century (London: Penguin, 2015)
4. Ronald Grigor Suny, ed. The Cambridge History of Russia, Volume 3: The Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008)
5. Seventeen Moments in Soviet History: An on-line archive of primary sources (2015) http://soviethistory.msu.edu