Feudalism in Russia, Then and Now: Vladimir Shlapentokh’s Concept of a ‘Feudal Society’
Feudalism in Russia, Then and Now: Vladimir Shlapentokh’s Concept of a ‘Feudal Society’

Summary/Abstract: Based upon medieval European history Vladimir Shlapentokh’s Contemporary Russia as a Feudal Society defines «feudalism» as a Weberian «ideal type» characterized by a weak central government which produces multiple power centers, increased crime and corruption, private security, and the dominance of personal relations in politics and the economy. This article concludes that his «ideal type» is based too much upon evidence from outside the medieval period. Shlapentokh has deduced rather than demonstrated the connection between weak central government and the elements he identifies as «feudal». Closer examination of the arguments of revisionist medieval historians who dispute the concept of «feudalism» and earlier studies of early Rus’ «feudalism», both of which Shlapentokh slights, further impugns the linkages which Shlapentokh posits. However, Shlapentokh’s monograph should encourage specialists in early Rus’ to undertake new comparative studies of «feudal» institutions.

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