Karamzin's Memoir on Ancient and Modern Russia

by Richard Pipes

Book by Pipes, Richard

Genres: History, Russia, Politics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Born in Poland, Richard Pipes fled the country with his family when Germany invaded it in 1939. After reaching the United States a year later, Pipes began his education at Muskingum College, which was interrupted in 1943 when he was drafted into the Army Air Corps and sent to Cornell to study Russian. He completed his bachelor's degree at Cornell in 1946 and earned his doctorate at Harvard University four years later.

Pipes taught at Harvard from 1950 until his retirement in 1996, and was director of Harvard's Russian Research Center from 1968-1973. A campaigner for a tougher foreign policy towards the Soviet Union during the Cold War, in 1976, he led a group of analysts in a reassessment of Soviet foreign policy and military power. He served as director of Eastern European and Soviet affairs at the National Security Council from 1981 until 1983, after which he returned to Harvard, where he finished his career as Baird Professor Emeritus of History.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated Pipes creating a level of context and accessibility for a classic text on Russian Conservatism. Well-translated and well-explained.

[Ezri · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it is hard to agree with a text that defends autocracy and serfdom, Karamzin's frequently witty and insightful memoir takes a Burkean 'liberal conservative' approach to defending the supreme authority of the Tsar, casting it in the best light possible. Although espousing a distaste for all things foreign and non-Russian, the author writes with clear Enlightenment influences, specifically that of Montesquieu. A must for anyone interested in Tsarist ideology or its critics.

[Karl Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often disagreeable, but nonetheless worth reading for the insight into the Russian conservative ideology of the era, with the literary sensibility of Karamzin's prose keeping the document engaging despite its failures. Moreover, Pipes' own essay on Karamzin's thought is, if perhaps a little bit drawn-out at times, worth reading for context and a better understanding of the text.