Recommendations from our site
“Montefiore quotes a couple of ambassadors to Russia who had personally met Napoleon and George Washington. And both of them said that Potemkin was the most impressive personality that they’d ever seen. The book confirms that perception. It tells the story of this incredible personality and his incredible love which continued after Catherine and Potemkin ceased to be lovers and lasted until Potemkin’s death in 1791—five years before Catherine, although he was 10 years her junior.” Read more...
The best books on Catherine the Great
Andrei Zorin, Historian
“We’ve had the reforms of Peter the Great, cutting his ‘window on to Europe’, then we had – and the 18th century is a crucial one – Russia meeting the Enlightenment. Catherine the Great comes to power, and that’s where the biggest revolution I think takes place, from the point of view of civilising the country. She has a great court, of which Voltaire was a part, as well as Potemkin, and this is a wonderful book about these times and days: highly entertaining, informative, pleasant and it’s a very important period, it’s when Russia became a great power.” Read more...
The best books on Tsarist Russia
Andrei Maylunas, Historian
