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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Russian History: from Lenin to Putin by University of California, Santa Cruz

4.7
stars
758 ratings

About the Course

In this course, Peter Kenez, Professor Emeritus at UC Santa Cruz, explains the events of modern Russian history and introduces its most significant actors—from Vladimir Lenin to Vladimir Putin....

Top reviews

RS

Sep 14, 2020

I found that course had a central theme, the incompatibility of the Communist structures with an increase in the standard of living, that was well documented from the time of Lenin to that of Putin.

SM

Jul 18, 2022

Very informative and well presented. Professor Kenez gives a thorough explanation of why Russia is what it is. It's the history from the Czarist regime to the common era. Thank you, Professor!

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26 - 50 of 282 Reviews for Russian History: from Lenin to Putin

By Chris

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Feb 4, 2020

The topic was very interesting, and I was very fond of Professor Kenez and his presentation style.

By Olga S

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Mar 9, 2019

Thank you, professor, for your deep understanding of Russian history and Russian soul.

By Armando B M

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Jan 29, 2019

Great course!!!! Thank you very much prof. Peter kenez. I've learned a lot!!!!!!

By Daniel D

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Apr 11, 2018

Está increíble. Gran profesor, gran clase. Thank you very much for this.

By Ricardo M A

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Apr 7, 2019

I had the feeling of great impartiality in this course.

By Elisandra S

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May 31, 2018

Wonderful course. Very well structured and dynamic!

By Shaleen P

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Jun 13, 2018

Very clear and in-depth discussion of events.

By Tony M

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Feb 22, 2019

Excellent teacher and course!

By Danny T

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Feb 22, 2018

Great course. Well Done!

By Jimena C

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Jul 13, 2020

Excellent Teacher!!!!

By Derek Z

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Jul 13, 2018

I really appreciated Prof. Kenez's knowledge and passion of the topics covered, as well as he style of communication. Great for an introductory course, for someone with no previous knowledge on Russian history. I would recommend taking this course, very interesting. However, a 3 week course may not be long enough to cover 100 years of Russian history. I found the quizzes to be extremely easy (the quiz questions are pretty much all previously asked during the lectures), and the transcripts of the lesson are way off.

By Drue C

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Dec 5, 2017

Very interesting information, unfortunately had to drop it while attempting to balance high school material. The professor had some instances where it was extremely difficult to understand him, and the transcript at times was incomprehensible (which, I assume, is a result of poor transcription). 100% would complete this course if I had the time to.

By Joy S

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Jan 1, 2018

As an American, I learned that there has been misunderstanding about the Russians in my country. They have a different way of thinking than we do and some of the things they said have been misconstrued. They have had difficult times and are not the monsters we have been taught they were.

By Stella M

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Dec 23, 2017

A great introduction to Russian history.

By Novindah S

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Jul 12, 2020

This course is an excellent overview of Russian History. It will definitely help you grasp the most basic bits but you should keep in mind that there will be bias, propaganda, and gatekeeping. So my advice for anyone taking this course is to be critical of everything and stop being intellectually lazy. Radicalize yourself.

By Lorna

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Dec 9, 2020

Oh dear! I have really struggled with this course. I was very keen to learn about Russian History sparked by documentaries and and reading bits here and there. However, I just could not follow the lecturer and his way of explaining things. I retried a few times but i just got frustrated. Disappointed as I was keen to do this course but I’m pulling out.

By Dan K

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Apr 29, 2020

The professor is a terrible speaker, and his hmm-ing and haa-ing eventually was too much to endure. I decided to just read the transcription, but the transcriptor couldn't make much of what he was saying, either. I'm not speaking of his accent, that was not much of a problem. He just couldn't go through the material in a mostly linear way. I think he should take a look at Professor Shapiro's politics course from Yale. That's how it's done.

By Vincent R

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Jun 16, 2022

I would like to thanks Professor Kenez for this amazing introduction history. My story is interesting, as my partner is Russian but I worked training Ukrainian army against corruption many times in Kiev. While I have always been aware of the political differences and tension, I also developped friendships with both Ukrainians and Russians. In Western Europe, where I live, people don't know nor understand Russia and this is, in my view, a great mistake. The war in Ukraine could propobably have been avoided if the West had tried to continue a true dialogue with Russia. I really appreciated Professor Kenez empathy (sometimes he was very emotional in the videos) for the Russian people, who have and continue to suffer tremendously. thank you so much and greeting from Brussels!

By Vivienne M

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Apr 14, 2020

I have learned many new things and I really liked the subject.

To follow this course you need some background information, such as what Stalinism is or who Marx is or Bolsjeviks are. I had some information learned at high school in the Netherlands, so i could follow it.

I advise to give a bit more attention to the cold war.I've learned other perspectives now, but for me I couldn't follow the origin and the development of it. It looked now if it only ended because of the major financial investments in military, but there were also other negotations I guess?

But I really liked the course and I'm curious to learn more about this country. I even bought a book:

frank westerman - engineers of the soul . You would like it (about the role of authors in the 20th century)

By pierre v

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Feb 11, 2018

What a gem of a course! I loved everything about it. When I was a boy in the 1970s, my interest in history was kick started by an ITV series called 'The World at War', with Laurence Olivier as the narrator. It was fascinating to me. The thrill of listening to this series of lectures, reconnected me with the excitement and sense of wonder which I experienced back then. Peter Kenez has so much knowledge on this subject, and his presentation and treatment of the information was fascinating. I gained so much insight into the history of Russia and the events which shaped modern day Russia. Thank you for enriching my life and allowing me to see the world in new ways.

By Carol L S

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Jan 28, 2020

The material was presented in a very clear and coherent way. I knew a little about Russian history from my study of theatre. This course filled in many gaps and gave me a better understanding of the Russian people--more compassion for them than I already had. The lectures were excellent and the quizzes helped to re-enforce material covered in the lectures. The only thing I found disappointing was that there was no interaction in the discussion forums. The professor interacting with us or TAs interacting with us would have encouraged more students to get involved. In some classes I've learned almost as much in the discussion forums as from the lectures.

By Maksim H

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Dec 20, 2017

I cannot recommend this course more than giving it five stars. Actually a one-star review have sparked my interest to go through the history of my motherland from the perspective of the foreign professor. Reviewer claimed that professor is biased towards Putin and watches Russia Today all the time. It cannot be further from the truth! After listening week three I am convinced that this "reviewer" is actually a Kremlin-paid-troll whose only aim to discredit this material.

The story is filled with empathy to russian people and I am genuinely grateful to professor Kenez for sharing these lectures and his efforts to shed light on troubled russian history.

By Genia U

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Aug 4, 2020

Encuentro que es un curso fantástico. Para empezar la metodología es muy cómoda. Los vídeos están muy bien hechos. No es que sean una gran producción, pero me gusta el hecho de que se grabe al profesor hablando (lo hace más cercano) y se combine con imágenes (te ayuda mucho a hacerte una idea de lo que se está hablando). Otra cosa que me ha gustado es que los vídeos hablan de una sola idea: esto es genial porque puede profundizar en ella a la vez que son vídeos cortos. Es un curso que recomendaría.

By Leo P

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Aug 12, 2019

I came across this course as a second thought. I don't know anything about Russian History aside from the very basics and what one can catch from watching the news. However, to listen to Peter Kenez speak is a blessing. He is informative without being pedantic and does something that is often taken for granted, he passes on his passion for the subject to the students. I am now incredibly interested in Russian history, even as far as implementing it into my work. Thank you Coursera!

By Luisa J

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Sep 13, 2018

This course is amazing.... I'm not a historian but history is my hobby and I love reading about WWII and Russian history. This course was perfect because I just read a book on the Tzarist period and this was the perfect complement. Professor Kenez is very knowledgeable and it's incredible how he speaks without reading notes or having a script to look at...

I found this course to be very complete, enjoyable and interesting and I would highly recommend it. Thank you professor.