"Imperial Knowledge" is a seminal study of the role played by Russian writers (e.g., Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevskii, Solzhenitzyn, Rasputin) in the service of Russian colonialism. Thompson shows that the benign image presented in Russian fiction has been internalized in Western scholarship and public opinion, obscuring the true nature of Russian imperialism. This ground-breaking book is bound to change the discourse on Russian literature and Russian imperial posture. "Imperial Knowledge" is a required reading for historians and students of Russian literature.

This is the best book on Russian literature I have read in years. It shows a neglected dimension of Russia's literature, a dimension extraordinarily rich in meaning. The book is well written and, even though it is impeccably scholarly, it compels one to read it at one sitting. This splendid study is must reading for anyone interested in understanding the sources of Russia's current troubles. I would recommend it to academic readers as well as to nonacademic lovers of Russian literature.