"... a tremendously important contribution to the field of Russian history and the comparative study of empires and frontiers. There is no comparable work in any language.... The book presents an intricate and gripping narrative of a vast sweep of histories, weaving them together into a comprehensive and comprehensible chronology." -Valerie Kivelson From the time of the decline of the Mongol Golden Horde to the end of the 18th century, the Russian government expanded its influence and power throughout its southern borderlands. The process of incorporating these lands and peoples into the Russian Empire was not only a military and political struggle but also a contest between the conceptual worlds of the indigenous peoples and the Russians. Drawing on sources and archival materials in Russian and Turkic languages, Michael Khodarkovsky presents a complex picture of the encounter between the Russian authorities and native peoples. Russia's Steppe Frontier is an original and invaluable resource for understanding Russia's imperial experience.

Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800 (Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies)

History

Khodarkovsky, Michael

Europe

Indiana Univ Pr (E)

"Khodarkovsky provides a detailed chronological narrative of Russia’s steppe relations, which conveys brilliantly the depth of Moscow’s engagement in the world of steppe politics.... This is counterbalanced by insightful thematic discussion of the perennial issues involved.... Altogether, an excellent study of a vital dimension of Russia’s historical evolution." ―Slavonic and East European Review
"... the first connected account of Moscow’s assertion of military and political control over its steppe frontier. The book’s scope is impressive, as it traces the transformation of a turbulent steppe frontier into an imperial borderland.... a signal contribution to our understanding of European history." ―American Historical Review
Drawing on sources and archival materials in Russian and Turkic languages, Russia’s Steppe Frontier presents a complex picture of the encounter between indigenous peoples and the Russians. An original and invaluable resource for understanding Russia’s imperial experience.

Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800

Indiana University Press

Drawing on sources and archival materials in Russian and Turkic languages, Michael Khodarkovsky draws a complex picture of the encounter between the Russian authorities and border peoples from the decline of the Mongol Golden Horde to the end of the 18th century. Not surprisingly, both sides viewed the other through the distorted lenses of their own societies, but what they saw had important consequences for the evolution of the Russian Empire and the fate of the indigenous peoples.

Russia

"I tried to play through the rest of the game as best I could, but I lost because [Deep Blue] played great. It played like God." --Garry Kasparov In 1995, shortly before he was to play IBM's Deep Blue, World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov defeated challenger Viswanathan Anand in eighteen demanding and gripping games. Here for the first time are move-by-move analyses by International Grandmaster Leonid Shamkovich and by Master--and Kasparov second--Michael Khodarkovsky which provide insight into the mind of the world champion as he prepared for the match against Deep Blue. Garry Kasparov handily won his first match with Deep Blue, but it is clear from Khodarkovsky's description that even in 1996 the massively parallel computer could be a difficult opponent. Then, before the spring 1997 rematch, the IBM team let on that it had improved Deep Blue considerably and that it was spoiling for a fight . . . The analysis of these games in A New Era shows just how much IBM has improved the breed. Must-reading for anyone who is passionate about the world's most enduring game of strategy and wits, A New Era takes the reader inside the world of professional chess, offering insiders' insights (including those of Kasparov himself) into the politics and psychology of competition at the top levels of play, whether against human or machine. "A [match] victory by Deep Blue would be a very important and frightening milestone in the history of Mankind." --Garry Kasparov

A New Era

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

Ballantine Books

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the expanding Russian empire was embroiled in a dramatic confrontation with the nomadic people known as the Kalmyks who had moved westward from Inner Asia onto the vast Caspian and Volga steppes. Drawing on an unparalleled body of Russian and Turkish sources―including chronicles, epics, travelogues, and previously unstudied Ottoman archival materials―Michael Khodarkovsky offers a fresh interpretation of this long and destructive conflict, which ended with the unruly frontier becoming another province of the Russian empire.Khodarkovsky first sketches a cultural anthropology of the Kalmyk tribes, focusing on the assumptions they brought to the interactions with one another and with the sedentary cultures they encountered. In light of this portrait of Kalmyk culture and internal politics, Khodarkovsky rereads from the Kalmyk point of view the Russian history of disputes between the two peoples. Whenever possible, he compares Ottoman accounts of these events with the Russian sources on which earlier interpretations have been based. Khodarkovsky's analysis deepens our understanding of the history of Russian expansion and establishes a new paradigm for future study of the interaction between the Russians and the non-Russian peoples of Central Asia and Transcaucasia.

Where Two Worlds Met: The Russian State and the Kalmyk Nomads, 1600–1771

Asia

Cornell University Press

Russia’s attempt to consolidate its authority in the North Caucasus has exerted a terrible price on both sides since the mid-nineteenth century. Michael Khodarkovsky tells a concise and compelling history of the mountainous region between the Black and Caspian seas during the centuries of Russia’s long conquest (1500–1850s). The history of the region unfolds against the background of one man’s life story, Semën Atarshchikov (1807–1845). Torn between his Chechen identity and his duties as a lieutenant and translator in the Russian army, Atarshchikov defected, not once but twice, to join the mountaineers against the invading Russian troops. His was the experience more typical of Russia’s empire-building in the borderlands than the better known stories of the audacious kidnappers and valiant battles. It is a history of the North Caucasus as seen from both sides of the conflict, which continues to make this region Russia’s most violent and vulnerable frontier.

Bitter Choices: Loyalty and Betrayal in the Russian Conquest of the North Caucasus

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Russia's 20th Century: A Journey in 100 Histories

Michael Khodarkovsky's innovative exploration of Russia's 20th century, through 100 carefully selected vignettes that span the century, offers a fascinating prism through which to view Russian history. Each chosen microhistory focuses on one particular event or individual that allows you to understand Russia not in abstract terms but in real events in the lives of ordinary people. Russia's 20th Century covers a broad range of topics, including the economy, culture, politics, ideology, law and society. This introduction provides a vital background and engaging analysis of Russia's path through a turbulent 20th century. 
A representative sample of chapters in the book includes:
1902: Peasants 1903: The Pogrom 1906: The Tsar's Speech 1908: Church 1910: Tolstoy's Death 1913: The Romanovs 1916: Rasputin 1922: USSR 1927: Orphans into Communists 1931: Palace of the Soviets 1935: Manufacturing Heroes 1939: Hitler's Ally 1941: Moscow on the Brink 1945: Rape of Germany 1949: Atomic Project 1954: Nuclear War Exercise “Snowball” 1955: Empire of Nations 1960: Virgin Lands 1969: The Soviet Dr. Seuss 1971: The Soviet Bob Dylan 1972: Nixon in Moscow and Kiev 1977: USSR, Less than a Sum of its Parts 1980: Moscow Olympic Games 1984: “Iron Maiden” Behind the Iron Curtain 1985: Vodka 1990: Soviet Nationalisms and Ethnic Wars 1997: Russian Fascism 1998: Return of the KGB
The historical mosaic of Russia's 20th Century provides a unique examination of modern Russian history one snapshot at a time, prompting us to reflect on a larger picture of Russia's past and its place in the world today.

Bloomsbury Academic

The first chess world champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, became the forefather of positional play more then 100 years ago. He dissolved the romantic notion that one can only taste sweet victory, by engaging in an attack, and searching for a combination with sacrifices. Steinitz stated that in order to win, the player must concentrate on accumulating small advantages enough of a large and significant one. Steinitz theory has been accepted widely since its popularization and is still applicable in the modern world. This first book in the “Chess GPS” series aims to introduce a new concept in the search for positional advantage and is aimed towards modernizing Steinitz’s theory. In addition to continuous accumulation of small advantages, one should focus his knowledge, talents, life experience, inspiration and fantasy on continuous improvement of his position. Improvement is a universal concept and can be applied towards every position and not just to the ones where there is a clear path to obtaining advantage. You can unblock any obstacles towards realizing your chess personality by taking full personal responsibility for every move. This strategy will move you towards achieving your chess goals. The books in the “Chess GPS” series are designed for more effective focusing the player’s energy and creative skills in the right direction. “Chess GPS: “Improvement” is composed of learning examples of how such a concept was realized by grandmasters in modern chess practice. This book should help you find your chess individuality, as well as present you with other tools to help improve your game. - - - - - - The concepts outlined in this book are rather convincing and should find wide use in chess practice. One of the main tasks of this book is to increase efficiency with which players can utilize their knowledge, experience, imagination and creativity. The associative array of well-chosen examples, allows the reader to better understand numerous chess strategic problems, fully develop their chess identity. It will also give the reader the ability to better comprehend the responsibility that comes with choosing a chess move. The concepts disclosed in this book are a testament to the authors’ extensive coaching and life experience. The light touch of Odessa humor adds flavor to this book. Garry Kasparov, 13th World Chess Champion

The Chess GPS - Improvement

Palatnik, Sam

Wildside Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Khodarkovsky, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Khodarkovsky, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Khodarkovsky, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800 (Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies)

Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800

Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800

A New Era

Where Two Worlds Met: The Russian State and the Kalmyk Nomads, 1600–1771

Bitter Choices: Loyalty and Betrayal in the Russian Conquest of the North Caucasus

Bitter Choices: Loyalty and Betrayal in the Russian Conquest of the North Caucasus

Russia's 20th Century: A Journey in 100 Histories

Russia's 20th Century: A Journey in 100 Histories

The Chess GPS - Improvement