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Loading... Russia: A History (edition 2002)
Work InformationRussia: A History by Gregory L. Freeze
All Things Russia (193) Loading...
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From the formation of the Russian state in the 14th century to the political power struggles of the 1990s and the uncertainties of the new millennium, this new history offers a fresh and systematic account of Russian history across six tumultuous centuries. With greater access to previously unobtainable material, and with the gradual depoliticization of what was once an intellectual Cold War battleground, historians are now able to tell the story of Russia more dispassionately and with greater precision than was formerly possible. Drawing on the best contemporary scholarship, and informed thro No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)947History and Geography Europe Russia and eastern Europe [and formerly Finland]LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The broad temporal sweep (400 pages for 500 years) seems like it'd be aimed at newcomers to the country's history, but I found I had to supplement the text with Wikipedia on nearly every page simply to understand the terms and historical figures used without introduction. People who don't need that sort of help might be bored by the overview.
Still, the subject matter is fascinating; despite several different authors writing for different eras, the link between historical causation still stands out. The consistent failure to divide land in an intelligent manner, the incompetency of the ruling class and the repeated way that reform always seemed to make things worse could be described as the major themes. ( )