Parppei Kati, Rakhimzianov Bulat (eds.) Images of Otherness in Russia, 1547-1917

Academic Studies Press, 2023. — 498 p.Defining the Others, “them”, in relation to one’s own reference group, “us”, has been an essential phase in the formation of collective identities in any given country or region. In the case of Russia, the formulation of these binary definitions – sometimes taking a form of enemy images – can be traced all the way to medieval texts, in which religion represented the dividing line. Further, the ongoing expansion of the empire transferred numerous “external others” into internal minorities. The chapters of this edited volume examine the development and contexts of various images, perceptions and categories of the Others in Russia from the 16th century Muscovy to the collapse of the Russian empire.Kati Parppei is a university lecturer (title of docent) in the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies at the University of Eastern Finland. Her interests include the history of mentalities and ideas, image studies, Russian history, and borderland issues.Bulat Rakhimzianov is currently a PhD student at University College Dublin. His research interests include the relations between the Tatar khanates and Moscow in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and the uses of Tatar medieval history in contemporary historical writings and politics.