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Mark Lawrence Schrad - Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State - 9780190468811 - V9780190468811
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Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State

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Description for Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State Paperback. Num Pages: 512 pages. BIC Classification: 1DVUA; HBJD. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 235 x 156. .
Russia is famous for its vodka, and its culture of extreme intoxication. But just as vodka is central to the lives of many Russians, it is also central to understanding Russian history and politics. In Vodka Politics, Mark Lawrence Schrad argues that debilitating societal alcoholism is not hard-wired into Russians' genetic code, but rather their autocratic political system, which has long wielded vodka as a tool of statecraft. Through a series of historical investigations stretching from Ivan the Terrible through Vladimir Putin, Vodka Politics presents the secret history of the Russian state itself-a history that is drenched in liquor. Scrutinizing (rather than dismissing) the role of alcohol in Russian politics yields a more nuanced understanding of Russian history itself: from palace intrigues under the tsars to the drunken antics of Soviet and post-Soviet leadership, vodka is there in abundance. Beyond vivid anecdotes, Schrad scours original documents and archival evidence to answer provocative historical questions. How have Russia's rulers used alcohol to solidify their autocratic rule? What role did alcohol play in tsarist coups? Was Nicholas II's ill-fated prohibition a catalyst for the Bolshevik Revolution? Could the Soviet Union have become a world power without liquor? How did vodka politics contribute to the collapse of both communism and public health in the 1990s? How can the Kremlin overcome vodka's hurdles to produce greater social well-being, prosperity, and democracy into the future? Viewing Russian history through the bottom of the vodka bottle helps us to understand why the "liquor question" remains important to Russian high politics even today-almost a century after the issue had been put to bed in most every other modern state. Indeed, recognizing and confronting vodka's devastating political legacies may be the greatest political challenge for this generation of Russia's leadership, as well as the next.

Product Details

Publisher
Oxford University Press Inc
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2016
Condition
New
Weight
737g
Number of Pages
528
Place of Publication
New York, United States
ISBN
9780190468811
SKU
V9780190468811
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-99

About Mark Lawrence Schrad
Mark Lawrence Schrad is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Villanova University.

Reviews for Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State
a powerful critique of the effect of the levels of vodka consumption and of government policy ... this book has real value ... [which] principally lies in its laying bare the effects of excessive vodka drinking on the course of development of Russian society and the responsibility of the Russian state in allowing this to develop
Graeme Gill, Australian Journal of Politics and History
Schrad is an engaging writer. He ranges across Russian history with ease, zeroing in on countless striking anecdotes and developing his story within a competent and well-researched narrative. The author brings to bear vast scholarly literature as well as published and unpublished (including archival) primary sources ... Vodka Politics draws upon vast research, tells a lot of great stories, and advances a provocative thesis.
Jonathan Daly, American Historical Review

Goodreads reviews for Vodka Politics: Alcohol, Autocracy, and the Secret History of the Russian State


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