Russia Reverts to Muscovy

This book explores the implications of removing the notion of “Russia” from political and scholarly discourse. It would be of interest to researchers in International Relations, Ethnic Studies, Political Science, Central Asian, Russian and Soviet Politics.

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Russia Reverts to Muscovy explores the implications of removing the notion of “Russia” from political and scholarly discourse.

The book posits the following questions: Should the state ruled from Moscow be termed “Russia”? Might not “Muscovy” be more appropriate? It reflects on how academia has conceptualized developments among the Eastern Slavs over the centuries from the early days of Muscovy up until the present-day Russian Federation with the result that by consistently viewing events through a Moscow lens the West has been instrumental in supporting Muscovite claims to hegemony and thus in allowing Moscow to play an outsized role not only in the region but also in global geopolitics. This book highlights the relatively recent development of the Muscovite state, the special claims Russian Federation which Moscow has made for itself; and the nature of Muscovite institutions including unaccountable government, conditional property rights, and the state as the engine of growth, based on forced resource extraction.

Exploring how the Eastern Slav world could be conceptualized differently and how this world might develop in reality, this book would be of interest to researchers in International Relations, Ethnic Studies, Political Science, Central Asian, Russian and Soviet Politics.