Notes on Russia
by Sigismund von Herberstein
The author…ended up being Hapsburg ambassador to Moscow – which is a rarity already… Herberstein spends years and years [in Moscow] and writes this book. Also he has agents travelling all over Russia…and he tells you all the history and geographics of the country. I think the book is brilliant. First of all it gives you a complete, colourful, Western insight on living in Moscow. And he gives you very probably the best picture of 16th-century Russia.
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“The author is called Sigismund von Herberstein, and he was an Austrian ambassador to Venice. Quite enlightened for his times – it’s the Renaissance – he’s a free spirit, and he ends up being Hapsburg ambassador to Moscow, which is a rarity already. He travels through Poland or whatever was the geography of the time, and he comes to Moscow. At the time it’s not even called Russia – it’s called Muscovy – and Herberstein spends years and years there and writes this book. Also, he has agents travelling all over Russia and all the way up to Siberia, and he tells you all the history and geographics of the country. I think the book is brilliant. First of all, it gives you complete, colourful, Western insight on living in Moscow. And he gives you, very probably, the best picture of 16th-century Russia.” Read more...
The best books on Tsarist Russia
Andrei Maylunas, Historian
