Forging a Unitary State: Russia’s Management of the Eurasian Space, 1650–1850

"LeDonne’s method is strictly historical, based on the careful reading of vast literatures, with a good dose of old-fashioned physical and human geography. At times this reads almost like the imagery travels of Jules Verne or the real-life accounts of young Petr Kropotkin."

Georgi Derluguian, NYU Abu Dhabi, Canadian-American Slavic Studies

"A short review cannot do justice to the wealth of detail provided in each section."

Alfred J. Rieber, The Central European University, American Historical Review

"LeDonne is one of the most distinguished historians of eighteenth-century Russia working in English; this culminating magnum opus displays many of the trademark features of his earlier work, including close attention to changing institutional structures, a focus on the interplay between domestic and foreign-policy concerns, and an awareness of the peculiarities of each region."

Gregory Afinogenov, Georgetown University, Journal of Modern History

"Dealing with complex issues of statehood and government, Forging a Unitary State can be situated under the rubric of a broadly defined institutional history. LeDonne builds upon a profound variety of primary sources and the massive corpus of his previous scholarship in Russian geopolitics, tsarist bureaucracy, and the system of administration. The book poses new questions that challenge widely held narratives about Russia becoming an empire."

Mikhail Dolbilov, Department of History, University of Maryland

"Forging a Unitary State is a sprawling work of immense erudition."

Kira Stevens, Department of History, Colgate University

"John P. LeDonne’s work, unique in its scale and design, connects the stories of Russia’s external territorial expansion and internal political consolidation. A result of many years of research, this book is an encyclopedia of imperial governance that will be indispensable for all historians of the Russian Empire."

Ekaterina Pravilova, Department of History, Princeton University