The heart of Russian history and culture; examining many themes; the enormity of Russia's geography; its desire for power; its search for an organic cultural identity; exploring the beginnings of Russia in the land known as Rus'.
Ivan the Terrible's reign is a cultural and historical symbol of Russian leadership; how he uses cultural symbols to create a spectacle of autocracy; knowing to what extent he sets the standard for subsequent centuries of the Russian leadership.
Examining the relationship between the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church; assessing how religion, as practiced by the Russian masses, changes church institutions; the extraordinary influence of the Russian church on state culture.
Learning what makes the Russian ruler Peter deserving of the title Great; looking at how he transforms a minor power on the periphery of Europe into a formidable empire; how he spearheads transformations to create a new European capital.
Modern Russian culture is born in the city of St. Petersburg, built on the shores of the Gulf of Finland; the dawning of the Russian Elizabethan Age, a time of extravagance and cultural energy; it produces wonders in architecture and opera.
The political alliance the Russian nobility forges with the Romanov regime brings Russian expansion; Professor Hartnett explores some fissures in the tsarist system that lead to popular resentment of the Russian nobility; ripe for revolution.
Lynne Ann Hartnett
Host
