The Baltic World 1772-1993 Europe's Northern Periphery in an Age of Change [Paperback]

This eagerly-awaited sequel shares the characteristics of its distinguished predecessor -- wide geographical and chronological span; expert mingling of political, social and economic history; and Dr Kirby's ability to keep the separate national threads of his account from tangling as he weaves them into the broad regional picture that is his main concern. Here he tackles the contrasting experiences of Europe's northern periphery -- affluence and democracy in the north, stagnation and authoritarianism in the south -- from the French Revolution to the collapse of the USSR and beyond. This is a masterly study of a region that is far from peripheral politically to the post-Soviet world.<B>Part One: The Age of Empire: </B><BR><BR> Sturm und Drang -The Baltic in an Age of Revolution, 1772-1815; Stormclouds, the revolutionary nineties, The spread of war, From Tilsit to Eidsvoll. The Baltic in 1800: Land and people- images and reality, Estates and classes, Reforming the common people . States and Unions-1815 to the Revolutions of 1848: Constitutions of diverse kinds, Government and society 1830 - 1848, Europe's policeman. The Era of Nationalism: Points of collision, The politics of nationhood. Society in an Era of Change: Landscapes, Lifestyles, Beliefs, Work. The Age of Imperialism 1871-1905: Threatened peripheries, The break-up of the Union, Reaction and reform, Fin-de-siecle: The city, Leisure and morality, The twilight of the old order?. The End of Empire- Russia in Revolution 1905-1917: 1905, The road to war, War and revolution. <BR><BR><B>Part Two: Nations and States: </B><BR><BR>The New Order; Russia, Germany and the Eastern Baltic, The Repercussions of War and Revolution, Independence. The Impact of Change, c.1870-1940; Peasant into Farmer?, The Farming-Economy, Innovation, Invention and Adaptation, The Role of the State. The IlP