The first modern state in russia was founded in 862 by king rurik of the rus, who was made the ruler of novgorod. Mcfaul is a scholar of russian history at stanford university, in the past he worked with ngos that tried to create democratic institutions in russia, he was a member of obamas national security staff, and finally was ambassador to russia. Drawing on both primary sources and major interpretive works, this sixth edition updates its existing coverage of the social, economic, cultural. For readers who want a brief history of russia, geoffrey hoskings russian history. Navigate to the global search form search landmark. Fishers history of europe, paul crowsons a history of the russian people, and william l.
Staraya ladoga and novgorod became the first major cities of the new union of immigrants from scandinavia with the slavs and finnougrians. The roots of russian literature can be traced to the middle ages, when epics and chronicles in old east slavic were composed. The traditional startdate of specifically russian history is the establishment of the rus state in the north in 862 ruled by vikings. So, needing a book to read is never an issue here the question is more about which book is best to start with. Books by russian authors are prized possessions in most households.
Click download or read online button to russian history a very short introduction book pdf for free now. Critics might argue that whatever economic system russia has. A short summary of history sparknotes s the russian revolution 19171918. A very short introduction is what we are seeking, but the conciseness of the book comes at a price. A short history is a great choice to get acquainted with russian history. It includes short paragraphs on social movements and culture 2. Bibles curriculum childrens books tracts other books. The history of russia begins with the histories of the east slavs.
The past year has prompted a predictable flurry of sovietthemed activity. Some of the must read bedtime stories for your child can include jack and beanstalk, cat in the hat, three little pigs, beauty and the beast, alice in the wonderland, goldilocks and the three bears, aesop fables, bob books, where the wild things are, gingerbread man and grimms fairy tales. A history of the russian revolution, leon trotsky about 900 pages long, this book is an imposing firsthand account of the russian revolution, remarkable for having been composed by one of its chief protagonistsproof, if need be, that leon trotsky was a formidable writer amongst other things. Paul bushkovitch emphasizes the enormous changes in the understanding of russian history resulting from the end of the soviet union in 1991. Russian history a very short introduction new books in. In this very short introduction, geoffrey hosking discusses all aspects of russian history, from the struggle by the state to control society to the transformation of the nation into a multiethnic empire, russias relations with the west, and the postsoviet era.
The third volume of the cambridge history of russia provides an. Taking a comprehensive look at the economic and political regime shift from yeltsin to putin, this book explores the key challenges facing the russian economy. This analysis of the core russian history textbooks prescribed by the ministry of. The traditional startdate of specifically russian history is the establishment of. Great works of russian literature everyone should read. An analysis of the challenges facing russias economy ten years after the transition, based on recent research and data. This depends on whether you want to learn about the russian soul of two hundred years ago gogol, pushkin, etc, the communiststalinist period of 20th century, or the recent postperestroika wild west of putin years. Information on the period from 1917 to 1991 can be found in the entry on the union of soviet socialist republics. List of books and articles about russian culture online. A concise history of russia accessible to students, tourists, and general readers alike, this book provides a broad overview of russian history since the ninth century. It encompasses not only the ethnically russian part of the country but also the nonrussian peoples of the tsarist and soviet multinational states and of the postsoviet republics. A century after the bolsheviks captured the winter palace, we round up the most illuminating new releases tackling the october revolution, its prelude and its.
Brief overview of the history of russia the area that is today the country of russia has been inhabited by people for thousands of years. Books in russianbibles, curriculum, childrens storybooks, etc. Some years later, the rus conquered the city of kiev and started the kingdom of the kievan rus. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. A superb history of russian literature, one that surely will reign as the standard history for years and decades. Here, swain articulates his core argument that the russian. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. A century after the bolsheviks captured the winter palace, we round up the most illuminating new releases tackling the. Simon sebag montefiores recommended reading on russia and. As kotkin acknowledges in his introduction, whereas stalin was. Poetry books short story collections translated books by female authors translated novels. There are many decent and easy to read books about russia and russian history, but since russian history is very controversial topic which mainly composed of politically and ideologically charged interpretations, you should focus on understand. History of russian literature yale university press. There are some events that are referred to passingly about which some readers might want more information.
A few books are unmissable along the way and fiction is as vital as history. If i wanted to learn about russia culture, national. This book provides a masterful overview of the russian state from its inception till vladimir putins government. He has written numerous books including beyond socialist realism holmes and meier, 1980, a history of the soviet union fontana press, 1992, russia and the russians penguin, 2001, and trust. Russias sheer size has made it difficult to mobilize resources and.
James meeks top 10 books of russia books the guardian. Extras indybest books nonfiction books 6 best russian history books. Peter the great, catherine the great, the romanovs. In this very short introduction, geoffrey hosking discusses all aspects of russian history, from the struggle by the state to control society, the. History the following article deals with the formation and history of the russian state and empire until 1917 and after the formation of the contemporary russian federation in 1991. From ivan the iv to vladimir putin, these rulers have often expanded their power at the expense of the russian people. Anton chekhov was one of the worlds most accomplished shortstory writers and this new collection. Geoffrey hosking was formerly professor of russian history at the school of slavonic and east european studies, ucl from 1984 to 2007.
A readable overview of russian history from kievan rus through wwii, if you get one of the. Source book for russian history from early times to 1917 3 vol 1972. Kievan rus is important for its introduction of a slavic variant of the eastern orthodox religion. Mcfauls unparalleled knowledge and experience provide the background for his important new book. An annotated foreign affairs syllabus on russian politics. I didnt know much of russias story except as it relates to the world wars and the cold war. The best books to read on the russian revolution, a. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. A very short introduction very short introductions by geoffrey hosking isbn. A concise history of russia cambridge university press. The father of russian classical music was mikhail glinka 18041857, who set the pattern for golden age music by combining elements borrowed from western music with russian folk music, church music and russian stories to create a new form of music that fits well within the western tradition but was at the same time distinctly russian in content. An analysis of historical narratives depicting key events article pdf available january 20 with 4,276 reads how we measure reads. Failing to fix russias banks risks further economic stagnation or decline and financial catastrophe.
Rare books division, new york public library, astor, lenox and tilden foundations 9 anti. Best russian history and literature books this is an alternative to the other best russian history books list. A brilliant overview is also provided by catherine merridale in red fortress, her history of the kremlin. Rich variety of firsthand and regularly supplemented information on russian culture. Elsewhere, the seach will be visibly opened after this button is selected. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of the russian revolution 19171918. Very readable, wellwritten, wellresearched, very detailed and indepth and yet never boring accounts of russian history.
Bernstam and rabushkas bold, intriguing, provocative proposalresting on an elaborate strategy of debtforequity swapswould fix the banks, reduce government debt, strengthen the independence of the central bank, and lay a solid foundation for sustained economic growth. This short history has been compiled from the study of a number of other works, in particular h. It belongs in the library of every teacher and every serious student of russina literature. We live in a world where war and peace is often used as generic shorthand for an extremely long novel, after all you dont need to have actually read the book to get the reference. Any books that go a bit before would be fine and actually preferable but it isnt too important. But its sheer size, harsh climate, and vulnerable borders has made it difficult to mobilize those resources and to govern effectively, especially given the diversity of its people. Hi, i was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for any books between 19171953 about russia. By the age of enlightenment, literature had grown in importance, and from the early 1830s, russian literature underwent an astounding golden age in poetry, prose.
Serves as a guide to the history and culture of russia. Can russias recent burst of economic growth be sustained. Widely acclaimed as the best onevolume survey text available, a history of russia presents the whole span of russias history, from the origins of the kievan state and the building of an empire, to soviet russia, the successor states, and beyond. Russian history a very short introduction download russian history a very short introduction ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. List of books and articles about russian history online.
I looked at the recommended books list and the similar books part on amazon, but none had quite the thing i was looking for. This book is a good general history of the period and particular effort is made to place stalin in context with russia both before and after his rule, as well as with lenin. If we were to sit down at the age of 12 and work out. A brief chronology 9982000 kievan russia 988 conversion to christianity 12371240 mongol invasion muscovite russia 80 the battle of kulikovo 1480 end of mongol rule 14621505 ivan iii 15051533 basil iii 15331584 ivan the terrible 158498 theodore 159816 the time of troubles 1645 michael romanoff 164576 alexis. His book provides an excellent overview of the uncertain road to economic growth in eastern europe in general and russia in particular. The 1917 revolutions may attract the most attention, but stalins dictatorship is an equally important subject for both russian and european histories. Russian literature has long been one of the richest and most interesting branches of the literary tree, and has been supplying the world with incredible, fantastic novels. Spanning the divide between europe and asia, russia is strategically placed and abundantly provided with natural resources. Sparknotes is here for you weve got everything you need to ace or teach.