Publication date UK format 1/9/22 book 368 pages
I would like to thank the author, publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to pick this to read and review all my reviews are honest.
Synopsis
This is the essential backstory, the history book that you need if you want to understand modern Russia and its wars with Ukraine, with its neighbors, with America, and with the West.” —Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy and Red Famine From “the great storyteller of Russian history” (Financial Times), a brilliant account of the national mythologies and imperial ideologies that have shaped Russia’s past and politics—essential reading for understanding the country today The Story of Russia is a fresh approach to the thousand years of Russia’s history, concerned as much with the ideas that have shaped how Russians think about their past as it is with the events and personalities comprising it. No other country has reimagined its own story so often, in a perpetual effort to stay in step with the shifts of ruling ideologies. From the founding of Kievan Rus in the first millennium to Putin’s war against Ukraine, Orlando Figes explores the ideas that have guided Russia’s actions throughout its long and troubled existence. Whether he's describing the crowning of Ivan the Terrible in a candlelit cathedral or the dramatic upheaval of the peasant revolution, he reveals the impulses, often unappreciated or misunderstood by foreigners, that have driven Russian history: the medieval myth of Mother Russia’s holy mission to the world; the imperial tendency toward autocratic rule; the popular belief in a paternal tsar dispensing truth and justice; the cult of sacrifice rooted in the idea of the “Russian soul”; and always, the nationalist myth of Russia’s unjust treatment by the West. How the Russians came to tell their story and to revise it so often as they went along is not only a vital aspect of their history; it is also our best means of understanding how the country thinks and acts today. Based on a lifetime of scholarship and enthrallingly written, The Story of Russia is quintessential Figes: sweeping, revelatory, and masterful.
My Review
This was a great history book. It goes into great detail of Russian history. It focuses on the country's politics, leaders, conflict and its need for power. I don't know that much about Russia. So I learnt alot from reading it and felt this is a brilliant book to read in this current climate. I loved how well the author explained things. It flowed so well in chronological order. It definitely fascinated me. It was a very eye opening read. I feel like I understand more about what it's like in a communist state. I definitely recommend reading this if you are interested in Russia or just want a better understanding about the history that has lead up to the present day issues. It certainly made me understand the lead up to the war. It makes for a very interesting and equally shocking history. I just need to mention how much I loved the simplicity of the cover. If we all think about Russia show definitely springs to mind. Cold in more ways than one.
So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing us this fascinating history of a very difficult country to understand. I'm sure that this book will be loved by many.
Where you can buy this book
Amazon US K $14.99, AUDIBLE, HC $26.99, PB $17.00
Waterstones HC £21.99
Google Books ebook £11.38
B&N HC $29.99, EBOOK $14.99, AUDIO $19.95
Kobo ebook £12.99
Amazon UK K £11.38, AUDIBLE, HC £16.99
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HAPPY READING