This course provides students with an opportunity for an in-depth comparative analysis of the social, economic and political institutions in the United States of America, a republic and Russia, a monarchy. This course deals specifically with the history of Russia from Alexander I to the Russian Revolution of 1917. It examines Russia’s internal developments and foreign policy within the period and pays attention to how serfdom affected the Russian development efforts within the period. The course reappraises Russia’s participation in the First World War and the impact of this great conflict on Russia. These themes provide adequate grounds for comparison with developments in the USA in the same period.