CREECA Lecture Series

In the early 20th century, a Russian nationalist movement coalesced in the tsarist Russian borderlands. In many ways, this region would seem unlikely terrain to nourish a Russian nationalist imagination. It was one of Russia's last territorial acquisitions and one of its most diverse corners. Exploring why the borderlands assumed a leading role in defining the essential characteristics of the Russian people and their state, Hillis presents a bold new interpretation of state-society relations.