State, Power and Community in Early Modern Russia

"State, Power and Community in Early Modern Russia" is a vivid reconstruction of life in one of the garrison towns built on Muscovy's southern steppe frontier in the early 17th century to defend against Tatar raids. It focuses on how the colonization process shaped power relations in a particular southern garrison community, both at the village level, within the land commune, and at the district level, between the general garrison community and the appointed officials representing state authority.