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Article: The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831.(Book review)
- Article from:
- The Historian
- Article date:
- September 22, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831. By John P. LeDonne. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Pp. xv, 261. $60.00.)
This pithy analysis of Russia's imperial mission in its "growing years" of 1650-1831 is both maddening and magnificent. As a professional geographer, the reviewer initially questioned his competence to review John P. LeDonne's work, but as he read further, it was clear why the editors chose as they did. Inherently geopolitical, the book contains ten excellent maps that illustrate much of the textual dynamics, and the work reads much like a dissertation in historical geography. As defined by the author, Russian grand strategy "was ...