Imperial boundaries : Cossack communities and empire-building in the age of Peter the Great

271 Pages·2009·3.251 MB·English

by  Brian J Boeck

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IMPERIAL BOUNDARIES
ImperialBoundariesisastudyofimperialexpansionandlocaltrans-
formationonRussia’sDonSteppefrontierduringtheageofPeterthe
Great.BrianJ.BoeckconnectstherivalryoftheRussianandOttoman
empiresinthenorthernBlackSeabasintothesocialhistoryoftheDon
Cossacks, who were transformed from an open, democratic, multi-
ethnic, male fraternity dedicated to frontier raiding into a closed,
ethnic community devoted to defending and advancing the bound-
ariesoftheRussianstate.Heshowshowbypromotingborderpatrol,
migration control, bureaucratic regulation of cross-border contacts,
anddeportationofdissidents,PeterIdestroyedtheworldoftheold
steppe and created a new imperial Cossack order in its place. In
examiningthistransformation,ImperialBoundariesaddresseskeyhis-
toricalissuesofimperialexpansion,thede-legitimizationofnon-state
violence,theconstructionofborders,andtheencroachingboundaries
ofstateauthorityinthelivesoflocalcommunities.
brian j. boeck isAssistantProfessorintheHistoryDepartment
atDePaulUniversity,Chicago,Illinois.
new studies in european history
Editedby
peter baldwin, UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles
christopher clark, UniversityofCambridge
james b. collins, GeorgetownUniversity
mia rodr´ıguez-salgado, LondonSchoolofEconomicsandPoliticalScience
lyndal roper, UniversityofOxford
timothy snyder, YaleUniversity
The aim of this series in early modern and modern European history is
to publish outstanding works of research, addressed to important themes
across a wide geographical range, from southern and central Europe, to
Scandinavia and Russia, from the time of the Renaissance to the Second
WorldWar.Asitdevelops,theserieswillcomprisefocusedworksofwide
contextualrangeandintellectualambition.
Afulllistoftitlespublishedintheseriescanbefoundat:
www.cambridge.org/newstudiesineuropeanhistory
IMPERIAL BOUNDARIES
Cossack Communities and Empire-Building
in the Age of Peter the Great
BRIAN J. BOECK
DePaulUniversity
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore,
São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521514637
© Brian J. Boeck 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-64150-3 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-51463-7 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Listofmapsandillustrations pagevii
Acknowledgments viii
Listofabbreviations x
Introduction 
 Beyondborders,betweenworlds:RussianEmpireandthe
makingoftheDonsteppefrontier 
 Peopleandpoweronthefrontier:liberty,diversity,and
de-centralizationintheDonregionto 
 Amiddlegroundbetweenautonomyanddependence:the
raidingeconomyoftheDonsteppefrontierto 
 Boundariesofintegrationorexclusion?Migration,mobility,
andstatesovereigntyonthesouthernfrontierto 
 Testingtheboundariesofimperialalliance:cooperation,
negotiationandresistanceintheeraofRazin(–) 
 BetweenRus’andRossiia:realigningtheboundariesof
Cossackcommunitiesinatimeofmigrationandtransition
(–) 
 Theeraofraskol:religionandrebellion(–) 
 Incorporationwithoutintegration:theAzovinterlude
(–) 
 Fromfrontiertoborderland:thedemarcationofthesteppe
andthedelegitimizationofraiding(–) 
v
vi Contents
 Boundariesofland,liberty,andidentity:makingtheDon
regionlegibletoimperialofficials(–) 
 TheBulavinuprising:thelaststandoftheoldsteppe
(–) 
 ReshapingtheDonintheimperialimage:power,privilege,
andpatronageinthepost-Bulavinera(–) 
 ClosingtheCossackcommunity:recordingandpolicingthe
boundariesofgroupidentity(–) 
 Aborderlinestateofmind:theclosingoftheDonsteppe
frontier(–) 
Afterword 
Index 
Maps and illustrations
maps
. TheDonregion pagexii
. ThewiderworldoftheDonsteppefrontier xiii
illustrations
. SealoftheDonHostintroducedin.Source:Chteniia
imperatorskogoobshchestvaistoriiidrevnostei(),book,
p.. 
. Eighteenth-centuryrepresentationofaCossack(afteracopper
engravingbyCasparLuiken).Source:aneighteenth-century
Germanprintintheauthor’spersonalcollection. 
vii
Acknowledgments
This study began in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Large portions of it
were written in New Haven, Washington DC, Madrid (Spain), Rome,
and Venice (Italy). Revisions were completed in New York, Los Angeles,
Marion(Texas),andChicago.MyfascinationwiththeDonCossacksnever
wanedduringthedozensofpersonalandprofessionalperegrinationsthat
took place while working on this project. Without constant support and
encouragement from my wife Dr. Elena Boeck, who is both my great-
est muse and my most incisive commentator, this study would not have
appearedinprintinCambridge,England.
Several institutions have shaped this study in substantial ways with
their generosity. Significant funding for this project was provided by the
International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and the Social Sci-
enceResearchCouncil(SSRC).APackardFellowshipadministeredbythe
GraduateSchoolofArtsandSciencesatHarvardenabledmetocomplete
myPh.D.inatimelyfashion.Apost-doctoralfellowshipprovidedbythe
HarrimanInstituteatColumbiaprovidedmewithanopportunitytowork
onthismanuscriptinaninvigoratingandcongenialsetting.TheUniversity
Research Council of DePaul University generously underwrote travel
expenses and costs associated with preparing the manuscript for submis-
sion. I owe a debt of gratitude to the staff of RGADA for their assistance
andformaintaininganefficientarchivaloperationinaverydifficultperiod
(theeconomiccrisisof).TheDavisCenterforRussianandEurasian
Studies at Harvard was a stimulating place to observe the demise of the
USSR. By taking a chance on my candidacy to the master’s program, the
RRCchangedmylife.Finally,theUniversityofTexashelpedmyacademic
visiontobecomeclearerandformerProvostStephenRiterintroducedme
to the delights of inspecting the borderlands and bad-lands of the Rio
Grandefrombothgreaterheightsandthetiltofarear-viewmirror.
Many individuals provided encouragement and invaluable assistance
duringthecourseofmyworkonthisbook.Myparentseachcontributed
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