These essays were written to assist teachers in the task of making Russian history intelligible to young U.S. students. In "An Approach to Russian History," Edward Keenan proposes that students need to gain a better understanding of how Russians perceive themselves and their history. In "Pre-Petrine Russia," Andrzej S. Kaminski focuses on the origins of the state, problems of the steppe, autocracy, structure of society, church, and the multinational character of the state. Marc Raeff describes developments during the 18th century in "Russia From 1689 to 1825/55." Richard Wortman discusses how the political, social, and cultural settings defined the way in which ideas were understood and used in "Russian Intellectual History to 1917: An Introduction." Abraham Ascher delineates the fundamental economic, political, and social changes that took place in "Revolutionary Russia, 1861-1921." Robert C. Tucker's aim is to put the Soviet Union's history into a Russian perspective in the essay, "Soviet Russia under Lenin and Stalin: 1921-1953." Vojtech Mastny discusses "The Soviet Union since 1953." The scholars also include bibliographic essays to help teachers locate materials that are usable in teaching Russian history. An eight-page index is provided. (SM)