Overview

From the great storyteller of Russian history, a brilliantly colored account of the myths that have shaped and reshaped Russia's identity and politics from its founding Who were the Rus, the ancient tribe from which the Russians trace their origins? Were they Baltic Slavs, hailing from within the territory that would become Russia? Or were they Vikings from Scandinavia, who came in from the outside to organize chaotic warring groups? Russians initially embraced the former theory, following a surge in nationalist sentiment, but autocrats, including Catherine the Great, came to trumpet the latter, which supported the notion that the Russian people are incapable of self-governance. Both sides were using history to create myths, narratives of national identity that could be deployed for their own political ends. The Story of Russia is about how the Russians defined themselves―and repeatedly reinvented such definitions along the way. Moving from Russia's agrarian beginnings in the first millennium to subsequent periods of monarchy, totalitarianism, and perestroika, all the way up to Vladimir Putin and his use of myths of Russian history to bolster his regime, celebrated historian Orlando Figes examines the ideas that have guided the country's actions: the need for autocracy to rule Russia's vast land; the veneration of the Holy Tsar and the cult of the leader; the belief in an essentially Russian collectivist spirit; and the oscillation between Russia's European and Eurasian character. With beautiful writing and alluring perspectives, The Story of Russia is as much about the myths and ideologies that have shaped Russian history―about the ways the Russians have interpreted their past―as it is about the events, institutions, social groups, and leaders that have made that history. And as modern Russia retreats from Europe, this authoritative account of Russia's past might well elucidate its future.

Full Product Details

9798212018142

Table of Contents

Reviews

[A] masterful work. -- New York Review of Books on Natasha's Dance Magisterial, beguiling, searching. -- The Guardian on The Europeans Scintillating...An exceptional history of Russian culture and a joy to read. -- San Francisco Chronicle on Natasha's Dance Staggering...A vivid, entertaining, and enlightening account of what it has meant to be culturally a Russian over the last three centuries. -- Los Angeles Times on Natasha's Dance

Author Information

Orlando Figes is the author of several books, including The Crimean War, The Whisperers, Natasha's Dance, and A People's Tragedy, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. The recipient of the Wolfson History Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, among others, Orlando is a professor of history at Birkbeck College, University of London. Stefan Rudnicki is an award winning audiobook narrator, director and producer. He was born in Poland and now resides in Studio City, California. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks and has participated in over a thousand as a writer, producer, or director. He is a recipient of multiple Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as a Grammy Award, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Ray Bradbury Award. He received AudioFile's award for 2008 Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Along with a cast of other narrators, Rudnicki has read a number of Orson Scott Card's best-selling science fiction novels. He worked extensively with many other science fiction authors, including David Weber and Ben Bova. In reviewing the twentieth anniversary edition audiobook of Card's Ender's Game, Publishers Weekly stated, Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take. Rudnicki is also a stage actor and director.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available