people at a time when they had just acquired a new dynasty-the Romanovs, and a new upper class-the military land-owning gentry. After describing the major upheavals of the first half of the seventeenth century, the anarchy of the Times of Trouble, and the schism of the church, and having meticulously traced the growth of the Muscovite state power, Kliuchevsky interprets the second half of the century as the age of transition, preparatory to the reforms of Peter the Great. For Kliuchevsky the

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... enteenth century still retained a unity and a wholeness which was subsequently lost because of Peter's ruthless destruction of traditions and customs standing in the way of change. -DMITRI VON MOHDRENSCHILDT This page intentionally left blank ACOURSEIN RUSSIAN HISTORY The Seventeenth Century