Mar 14, 2026

2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

HS 234 Modern Russia: Tsars to Stalin

(4 Credits)
This study of Russia from the late 19th century to the death of Stalin emphasizes the decline of imperial Russia and the rise of the communist regime. The key questions of the course are: How and why did the Czarist regime fall into decline and fall? Why was there a communist revolution in 1917? How was communism able to consolidate its grip on Russia? How did Stalin rise to dominate the communist regime for so long? How did all this impact people’s lives? What has been Stalin’s impact and legacy?