The Steppe and Its Empires: The Russian Empire and Its Eurasian Counterparts

A broad comparative study that highlights the importance of the Eurasian steppe and its impact on the arc of Russian history

Throughout its existence, Russia has been a hybrid empire shaped by both Europe and Asia. Focusing on the formation of the Russian state between the sixteenth and the mid-nineteenth centuries, renowned historian Michael Khodarkovsky examines Russia’s structural similarities with its neighbors in Asia–the Ottoman, Persian, Mughal, and Chinese empires. While most historians have noted the transformations that brought Russia closer to modern European societies, the Russian empire’s shared characteristics with its non-European counterparts remain poorly understood.

Khodarkovsky reveals the critical role of the Eurasian steppe in the formation of the empires, whose military-social institutions and political culture were distinctly different from those of the West. Ultimately, he argues that Russia is best understood as a hybrid Eurasian empire whose steppe origins and fluid frontiers propelled its relentless expansion, producing a vastly diverse society with a blurred sense of national identity.

Author: Michael Khodarkovsky
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 05/05/2026
Pages: 224
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 9.52h x 6.33w x 0.79d
ISBN: 9780300284386
Language: English