Russia, Europe, and the Theorem of Backwardness
Manfred Hildermeier’s Geschichte Russlands
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
With his new "Geschichte Russlands", Manfred Hildermeier has submitted another magnum opus. In this work, which is rich in detail, Hildermeier compares developments in Russia with those in Western Europe and follows the reception, appropriation, and transformation of West European historical achievements in Russia. However, herein lies the problem with this book: the thesis of Russia’s backwardness leads inevitably to the country’s history being told as a deviation from a European norm.
(Osteuropa 8/2013, pp. 35–44)