Russia played a key part in the military campaigns and the ultimate defeat of Napoleon. At the same time the Napoleonic Wars affected almost every aspect of Russian life – economically, politically, socially and ideologically. This volume brings together the most important and new research on Russia and the Napoleonic period by Russian and non-Russian historians. Their work demonstrates why this period is so significant both for internal Russian developments and for an understanding of Russia's relationship with Europe. The Wars not only shaped early nineteenth-century Europe but also have a contemporary relevance for understanding Russian perceptions and international relations today.

Janet M. Hartley is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. She has written six books and many articles on Russian history and Anglo-Russian relations in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Her most recent book is Siberia: A History of the People (2014).

Paul Keenan is Assistant Professor in the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. His work examines the social and cultural development of Russia during the 'long' eighteenth century, with particular focus on the activities of the Russian court. His recent monograph, St Petersburg and the Russian Court, 1703-1761, was published in 2013.

Dominic Lieven is Senior Research Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge, UK and Fellow of the British Academy. He is the author of six monographs and the editor of the Cambridge History of Russia vol. 2 (Imperial Russia). His most recent book, Russia against Napoleon: The Struggle for Europe. 1807-1814 (2009), won the Wolfson Prize, the Prix de la Fondation Napoléon, and has been translated and published in eleven languages.

Introduction; Dominic Lieven
1. International Relations in the Napoleonic Era: The Long View; Dominic Lieven
2. Cicero and Aristotle: Cultural Imperialism and the Napoleonic Geography of Empire; Michael Broers
3. Napoleon's Vision of Empire and the Decision to Invade Russia; Alan Forrest
4. Russian Perspectives on European Order: 'Review of the Year 1819'; Elise Kimerling Wirtschafter
5. Alexander I, Talleyrand and France's Future in 1814; Marie-Pierre Rey
6. Russia and Britain in International Relations in the Period 1807–1812; Aleksandr A. Orlov
7. Russia, Napoleon and the Threat to British India; David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye
8. Factions and In-Fighting among Russian Generals in the 1812 Era; Viktor M. Bezotosnyi
9. The 'Maid of Orleans' of the Russian Army: Prince Eugen of Württemberg in the Napoleonic Wars; Denis A. Sdvizhkov
10. The Finances of the Russian Empire in the Period of the Patriotic War of 1812 and of the Foreign Campaigns of the Russian Army; Liudmila P. Marnei
11. Patriotism in the Provinces in 1812: Volunteers and Donations; Janet M. Hartley
12. The Russian Imperial Court and Victory Celebrations During the Early Napoleonic Wars; Paul Keenan
13. Orthodox Russia against 'Godless' France: the Russian Church and the 'Holy War' of 1812; Liubov Melnikova
14. The Enemy Behind Our Backs? The Occupation of the Duchy of Warsaw 1813-1814; Andrzej Nieuwazny
15. Heroes of the Napoleonic Wars in the Ruling Elite of the Russian Empire; Grigorii Bibikov
16. The 1812 War and the Civilizing Process in Russia; Alexander M. Martin
17. The Patriotic War of 1812 in the Commemorative Practices and Historical Memory of Russian Society from the Nineteenth to the Early Twenty-First Centuries; Tatiana Saburova