Fleshing out the complicated history of the Time of Troubles [Review: Kabanov A.Yu., Rabinovich Ya.N. The Honest and the Unscrupulous in the Time of Troubles in Russia. Moscow, Kvadriga, 2022. (In Russian)]

Abstract

This article reviews A.Yu. Kabanov and Ya.N. Rabinovoch’s book “The Honest and the Unscrupulous in the Time of Troubles in Russia” published in 2022, which is a vivid description of the most prominent figures during the Russian political crisis of the early 17th century. It is argued that the book is timely, as well as highly important and influential for further evolution of history as a field of study. The connection of the authors’ historical narrative with the earlier historiographic traditions is traced. The structure and content of the book are analyzed in detail. It is concluded that the book stands out by its organization and approach. The authors contribute a lot into both a better understanding of the general situation in Russia of the 17th century and to disentangling the complicated issues associated with the Time of Troubles. They describe the dramatic and turbulent events through the fates of specific individuals, thereby proving the key role of the behavioral aspect in historical research. At the end of the review, the need to keep on analyzing historical problems from this angle in modern Russian historiography is substantiated.

Keywords

• time of troubles
• review
• biography
• historiography
• a.yu. kabanov
• ya.n. rabinovich