Crime, Cultural Conflict, and Justice in Rural Russia, 1856–1914

Bibliographic Data

ID7428355
AuthorsStephen P Frank (corresponding author)
Year1999
Pages396
Publication date1999-12-31
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueCrime, Cultural Conflict, and Justice in Rural Russia, 1856-1914 (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity of California Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1525/9780520920811
OpenAlexW4301837497
Open LibraryOL29712111M
ISBN9780520920811
GOOGLE_BOOK_ID4LjWwhGntqcC
LanguageEN
Citations received23

Given the attention that Russian crime and criminals receive in the press these days, Stephen P. Frank's analysis of crime in post-emancipation rural Russia is certainly timely.It is also an insightful look at an important topic that makes a gallant effort at comparing the administration of peasant Russia with other imperial systems, a task (unfortunately) often neglected in studies of the Russian Empire.By exploring the "alternative definitions of legality, justice, and the very constitution of a criminal act" pp.2-3) held by peasants and educated society, the book offers fresh insights into the themes of social cleavage and undergovernment.Most importantly, the author makes a convincing case that the state's biggest failure may well have been its inability (or unwillingness) to perform its most basic function: the protection of its subjects/citizens.Crime in rural Russia was primarily "an intrapeasant phenomenon" (p.4), where peasants were not only the main perpetrators, but also the main victims

Administration of justice · Emancipation · Peasant · Principle of legality · Soviet and Russian History

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