Story of Russia

Chris Day's Review

For a country with an economy the size of Australia’s, Russia hits above its weight both above the belt (oil and gas) and below (the war in Ukraine and the Wagner Group). Putin’s belief that Russia is entitled to an empire based on its history is open to debate. Russian history has been ‘corrected’ to suite circumstances and ensure that the official stories and myths of the country’s past do not conflict with current policies.

A new history of Russia by respected historian Orlando Figes gives the reader a well-written narrative from when first settled by the Slavs to today’s Putin. Covering the Russian church, Ivan the Terrible, Catherine the Great, the Romanovs and Stalin we travel through Mother Russia. The book is a valuable guide to today’s Russia and what the future may hold.

Other Reviews

 'The history book you need if you want to understand modern Russia'
ANNE APPLEBAUM
'A magnificent, magisterial thousand year history of Russia . . . by one of the masters of Russian scholarship'
SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
'A great historian at the peak of his powers'
WILLIAM DALRYMPLE
'(An) excellent short study'
MAX HASTINGS, SUNDAY TIMES

'A lucid chronological journey that ably illustrates how narratives from the nation's past have been used to shape its autocratic present'
OBSERVER

'To understand Putin's paranoia, read this book on Russia's history'
TELEGRAPH
From the great storyteller of Russia, a spellbinding account of the stories that have shaped the country's past and how they can inform its present.