Brian J. Boeck is Assistant Professor in the History Department at DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.

'The book not only makes an important contribution to our understanding of Russia as empire, but also tells us much about a particular region and its population, especially about the shift of social identities in early modern Russia.' Guido Hausmann, H-HistGeog

• Introduction; 1. Beyond borders, between worlds: Russian Empire and the making of the Don Steppe Frontier; 2. People and power on the frontier: liberty, diversity, and de-centralization in the Don region to 1700; 3. A middle ground between autonomy and dependence: the raiding economy of the Don Steppe Frontier to 1700; 4. Boundaries of integration or exclusion? Migration, mobility, and state sovereignty on the southern Frontier to 1700; 5. Testing the boundaries of imperial alliance: co-operation, negotiation and resistance in the era of Razin (1667–81); 6. Between Rus' and Rossiia: realigning the boundaries of Cossack communities in a time of migration and transition (1681–95); 7. The era of Raskol: religion and rebellion (1681–95); 8. Incorporation without integration: the Azov Interlude (1695–1711); 9. From frontier to borderland: the demarcation of the Steppe and the delegitimation of raiding (1696–1710); 10. Boundaries of land, liberty, and identity: making the Don region legible to imperial officials (1696–1706); 11. The Bulavin uprising: the last stand of the old Steppe (1706–9); 12. Reshaping the Don in the imperial image: power, privilege, and patronage in the post-Bulavin era (1708–39); 13. Closing the Cossack community: recording and policing the boundaries of group identity (1708–39); 14. A borderline state of mind: the closing of the Don Steppe frontier (1708–39); Afterword.

Brian J. Boeck is Assistant Professor in the History Department at DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.

'The book not only makes an important contribution to our understanding of Russia as empire, but also tells us much about a particular region and its population, especially about the shift of social identities in early modern Russia.' Guido Hausmann, H-HistGeog

• Introduction; 1. Beyond borders, between worlds: Russian Empire and the making of the Don Steppe Frontier; 2. People and power on the frontier: liberty, diversity, and de-centralization in the Don region to 1700; 3. A middle ground between autonomy and dependence: the raiding economy of the Don Steppe Frontier to 1700; 4. Boundaries of integration or exclusion? Migration, mobility, and state sovereignty on the southern Frontier to 1700; 5. Testing the boundaries of imperial alliance: co-operation, negotiation and resistance in the era of Razin (1667–81); 6. Between Rus' and Rossiia: realigning the boundaries of Cossack communities in a time of migration and transition (1681–95); 7. The era of Raskol: religion and rebellion (1681–95); 8. Incorporation without integration: the Azov Interlude (1695–1711); 9. From frontier to borderland: the demarcation of the Steppe and the delegitimation of raiding (1696–1710); 10. Boundaries of land, liberty, and identity: making the Don region legible to imperial officials (1696–1706); 11. The Bulavin uprising: the last stand of the old Steppe (1706–9); 12. Reshaping the Don in the imperial image: power, privilege, and patronage in the post-Bulavin era (1708–39); 13. Closing the Cossack community: recording and policing the boundaries of group identity (1708–39); 14. A borderline state of mind: the closing of the Don Steppe frontier (1708–39); Afterword.