The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians

W. Bruce Lincoln

Cornell University Press, 2007 - History - 500 pages

"In The Conquest of a Continent, the historian W. Bruce Lincoln details Siberia's role in Russian history, one remarkably similar to that of the frontier in the development of the United States. . . . It is a big, panoramic book, in keeping with the immensity of its subject."—Chicago Tribune"Lincoln is a compelling writer whose chapters are colorful snapshots of Siberia's past and present. . . . The Conquest of a Continent is a vivid narrative that will inform and entertain the broader reading public."—American Historical Review"This story includes Genghis Khan, who sent the Mongols warring into Russia; Ivan the Terrible, who conquered Siberia for Russia; Peter the Great, who supported scientific expeditions and mining enterprises; and Mikhail Gorbachev, whose glasnost policy prompted a new sense of 'Siberian' nationalism. It is also the story of millions of souls who themselves were conquered by Siberia. . . . Vast riches and great misery, often intertwined, mark this region."—The Wall Street JournalStretching from the Urals to the Arctic Ocean to China, Siberia is so vast that the continental United States and Western Europe could be fitted into its borders, with land to spare. Yet, in only six decades, Russian trappers, cossacks, and adventurers crossed this huge territory, beginning in the 1580s a process of conquest that continues to this day. As rich in resources as it was large in size, Siberia brought the Russians a sixth of the world's gold and silver, a fifth of its platinum, a third of its iron, and a quarter of its timber. The conquest of Siberia allowed Russia to build the modern world's largest empire, and Siberia's vast natural wealth continues to play a vital part in determining Russia's place in international affairs.Bleak yet romantic, Siberia's history comes to life in W. Bruce Lincoln's epic telling. The Conquest of a Continent, first published in 1993, stands as the most comprehensive and vivid account of the Russians in Siberia, from their first victories over the Mongol Khans to the environmental degradation of the twentieth century. Dynasties of incomparable wealth, such as the Stroganovs, figure into the story, as do explorers, natives, gold seekers, and the thousands of men and women sentenced to penal servitude or forced labor in Russia's great wilderness prisonhouse.

What people are saying

Review: The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians

User Review  - Jonnie Enloe - Goodreads

Excellent rendition of Russian History from about 1450 to 1985. As pretains to Siberia, a particularly good narrative with insight into the indigenous people from the Urals to Alaska. Long read if you absorb material and reference other books.

Review: The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians

User Review  - John Nelson - Goodreads

America in the nineteenth century had the Wild West. Russia over most of its history had the Wild East. This book details Russia's eastward expansion over Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, and, briefly ...

Contents

• The Fury of God: 3
• Batus Winter War: 17
• On Kulikovo Field: 24
• The Russians Take Siberia: 31
• Ermaks Conquest: 41
• The Siberians: 48
• To the Great Ocean: 57
• Searching for Grain: 64
• Discovering a Passage Between Two Continents: 73
• Life on the Siberian Frontier: 81
• The Demidovs Frontier Iron and Tsar Peter: 93
• Berings First Voyage: 100
• The Great Northern Expedition: 107
• The Russians Discover America: 122
• The Russian Columbus: 134
• At the Threshold of a New Era: 143
• The Largest Part of the Russian Empire: 150
• GovernorGeneral Speranskii: 155
• Katorga and Ssylka: 163
• Two Princesses: 168
• Dostoevskii in the House of the Dead: 177
• The Search for Gold: 183
• Muravev Takes the Amur: 190
• Kennans Journey: 197
• The Politicals: 207
• By Administrative Process: 211
• Lenin in Exile: 216
• An Iron Road Across Asia: 223
• Building the Worlds Longest Railroad: 231
• Amur River Boats and Russias Manchurian Connection: 239
• Lake Baikal: 246
• A Small Victorious War: 250
• The Immigrants: 257
• Siberias Wild East: 263
• The Lena Goldfields Massacre: 270
• Before the Storm: 281
• War and Revolution: 287
• The Czech Legion: 297
• Pitchforked into the Melee: 304
• The Bolsheviks Take Siberia: 318
• Jack Scott and Siberias Magnetic Mountain: 324
• Edible Fossils: 332
• Socialist Reconstruction: 350
• The Great Relocation: 358
• Siberias Modern: 365
• Virgin Lands: 371
• Bratsk Power Station: 378
• The BAM: 385
• The Riches of Samotlor and Urengoi: 393
• Siberias Soviet Heritage: 400
• Acknowledgments: 411
• Notes: 417
• Works and Sources Cited: 461
• Index: 479

Popular passages

Page 466 - The Dark Side of the Moon with a preface by TS ELIOT...‎

About the author

W. Bruce Lincoln held the title of Distinguished Research Professor of Russian History at Northern Illinois University

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians; Cornell paperbacks
• Author: W. Bruce Lincoln
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cornell University Press, 2007
• ISBN: 0801489229, 9780801489228
• Length: 500 pages
• Subjects: History / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union; Social Science / Human Geography