{"product_id":"structures-of-society-imperial-russias-people-of-various-ranks-hardback-9780875801902","title":"Structures of Society; Imperial Russia's \"People of Various Ranks\" (Hardback) 9780875801902","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eStructures of Society\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eImperial Russia's \"People of Various Ranks\"\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eElise Kimerling Wirtschafter (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780875801902\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 15 July 2021\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e232 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.907 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This study has far-reaching implications that are broadly revisionist.... It raises questions and challenges to some of the accepted paradigms.\"\u003cbr\u003e -Slavic Review\u003cbr\u003e \"Wirtschafter's analysis is brimming with insights, stimulating and provocative.\"—Russian Review\u003cbr\u003e \"A major contribution to our understanding.\"—Slavonic and East European Review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eA category of persons best defined by what they were not, the raznochintsy-\"people of various ranks\" or \"people of diverse origins\"-inhabited the shifting social territory between nobles and serfs in preindustrial Russia. Neither merchants nor clergy nor military servicemen, they may have been by occupation administrative clerks, teachers, artists, retired soldiers, or street vendors. In official society, they were outsiders. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In this first major study of the raznochintsy, Wirtschafter draws on a rich array of archival, legal, administrative, and public sources to show how this important but elusive category functioned in Russian society from the time of Peter the Great to the late nineteenth century. Challenging the traditional image of a rigidly hierarchical social structure, her conclusions indicate that there was much more mobility within imperial Russian society than historians have previously thought. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Developing a representational interpretation, Wirtschafter examines the raznochintsy as a legal, social, and cultural category. Focusing on the usages, meanings, and dynamic evolution of the category, she analyzes the origins of the raznochintsy as well as larger theoretical issues of social categorization and delimitation. Her depiction of a society where social boundaries were porous and social definitions fundamentally indeterminate provides a new perspective on some of the most stubbornly problematic themes in imperial Russian history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable of Contents\u003cbr\u003e 1. Historiography and Problematics \u003cbr\u003e 2. The Legal Framework \u003cbr\u003e 3. Administrative Applications and the Origins of Raznochintsy \u003cbr\u003e 4. State Building, Economic Development, and the Creation of Raznochintsy \u003cbr\u003e 5. Societal Representations: The Raznochintsy as Outsiders \u003cbr\u003e 6. Self-Definition and Identity \u003cbr\u003e Conclusion \u003cbr\u003e Appendix: Usages and Meanings of the Category Raznochintsy \u003cbr\u003e Notes \u003cbr\u003e Select Bibliography \u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Northern Illinois University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52584739143960,"sku":"9780875801902","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/structures-of-society-imperial-russias-people-of-various-ranks-hardback-9780875801902","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}