In search of a predictable past

The article is a reflection on reading the book by Academician A.V. Torkunov and Professor V.V. Degoev “Russian History: State. Civilization, External World” (Moscow: Aspect Press, 2024) in connection with the problems raised in it in the spheres of economy, state and society structure in Russia, up to the problems of its foreign policy. In their voluminous work, involving the methodology of historical sciences and related disciplines, the authors paid attention to the issues of human relations with society and the state in Russia, which, as elsewhere, were not always friendly and have never been simple. Reading the monograph encourages reflection on the patterns of development of Russian statehood over a huge period of time from the second half of the 9th century to the beginning of the 20th century, — from the formation of the Kyiv state to the First World War, - including the periods of Ancient Rus’, medieval Muscovy and the Russian Empire.