OSHER 220 - Russia in the Early 20th Century: Belle Epoque or Revolutionary Crossroads?

The turn of the twentieth century is a momentous period in Russian history that is often underappreciated: the nineteenth century is considered the Golden Age in Russian civilization and the transformative events of the Soviet period attract the attention of many. But in this course, we will focus our lens on the two decades that are known as the Silver Age of Russian literature and culture, and when three(!) revolutions occurred in Russia in quick succession. We will examine political, philosophical, economic, and cultural developments of that period-and will inquire how Russia got from Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky to the Holodomor and the Gulag camps.