"Territory" Journal Library

At the end of 2025, the journal launched its own book series, the "Territory" Journal Library. The aim of this project is to publish new scholarly research on the social, political, and cultural history of the Russian Empire and the USSR.

The first book in the "Territory" Journal Library series was the collective monograph Justice on the Periphery of the Russian Empire: Between Unification and Diversity, edited by E.A. Krestyannikov and S.V. Lyubichankovsky. Download available at the link.

This published work is the result of collaborative efforts by a team of historians, legal scholars, and anthropologists working under the supervision of E.A. Krestyannikov, Leading Research Fellow at the Institute of Russia’s Regional History (HSE). The collective monograph examines the role of the judicial system as a tool for integrating the peripheral regions of the Russian Empire. The book analyzes how justice contributed to the creation of a unified legal space while adapting to local conditions. Particular attention is paid to the Judicial Reform of 1864, which, by combining principles of unification with regional specificity, became a key mechanism of imperial integration. The authors reveal the acculturative potential of judicial institutions, demonstrating their influence on the transformation of legal consciousness among local elites and the population. The study also addresses challenges related to the resource provision of courts and the evolving attitudes of Russian subjects toward them across different regions. Based on a wide range of sources, the publication offers a new comprehensive perspective on imperial justice as a complex system balancing centralization with adaptation to regional specificities.