The Barons: A Comparative Analysis

288 Words2 Pages
The Russian empire encompassed territory of many differing cultural groups from the Caucuses to farthest reaches of Siberia. How did the Russian state view these differing groups and how was policy directed at dealing with this reality in such a multicultural state. Willard Sunderland attacks this question through a micro-history of Baron Roman Fedorovich Von Ungern-Sternberg (Ungern) or the “mad baron.” In The Baron’s Cloak Willard uses Ungern’s life to further illustrate the complexities of empire that usually fall away when historians make generalizations. Willard states “...the empire was always defined by difference. No two imperial regions were the same, nor were they treated the same way.” Through Ungern’s life, Sunderland argues that