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History Books » New History Books

The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes
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The Story of Russia

by Orlando Figes

The Story of Russia is a highly readable account of the whole of Russian history, from the early days of the Rus to the current war in Ukraine, in fewer than 300 pages. Historian Orlando Figes, author of our most recommended book on Russian history—A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution—shows how that history is essentially a story. This is no different from any other country’s national history, constantly changing to reflect current concerns, but it is a story many Westerners are unfamiliar with and crucial to understanding Russia today.

Recommendations from our site

“The book opens in 2016 with the unveiling of a statue in front of the Kremlin to Grand Prince Vladimir, ruler of Kievan Rus, ‘the first Russian state’, between 980 and 1015. Vladimir Putin gave the opening address. ‘The Ukrainians were furious,’ Figes writes. ‘They had their own statue of grand prince, Volodymyr as they call him. It was built in 1853…high up on the right bank of the Dnieper River overlooking Kiev.’ As he notes, “What we have in the conflict over Volodymr/Vladimir is not a genuine historical dispute, but two incompatible foundation myths.” The book is a highly readable overview of more than a millennium of Russian history in fewer than 300 pages with, as the title suggests, an eye on the ‘story’ that’s being told and how it is relevant to the present. Not only does the book make you think about Russia, it also makes you think about the history of every country and the power of these ‘imagined communities.’” Read more...

Nonfiction of 2022: Fall Roundup

Sophie Roell, Journalist

The book, according to the author

“I wanted to do a relatively short, accessible and enjoyable volume of history from the earliest times, and I thought it was important to do it in a way that exposed the driving ideas and ideologies of Russian history. Because certainly after 2014, it struck me increasingly that the way the Russians understood their history was very different from the way we would understand their history, especially those bits of history that connect with ours, like the Cold War. That disconnect needs to be understood because if we’re going to deal with the Russians now, we need to understand where they’re coming from.

I wanted to say something about Russian historiography and the myths that they have woven around their own story. There are some recurring themes. There’s the Tsar or ruler as a sacred figure, a god on Earth whose authority is sacralized and who is a national savior. That’s the story of Alexander Nevsky, of Alexander I, of Stalin in World War II. These are stories of the sacred, godlike leader who saves the country from hostile forces abroad. It’s only when you begin to look at it from that point of view that you can understand the strength of autocratic modes of thought, and why propaganda of an authoritarian, nationalist, anti-Western persuasion can make sense or get a grip on the national consciousness.

That’s all about the narratives of history. It’s historical. It’s not about a mindset, or psyche, or DNA, or any of the rather cliched stereotypes people use to try and explain why the Russians are like the Russians. You have to unpack it historically which does, as you say, involve looking at those moments when it could have gone another way. Why it is that certain ideas recur and get mobilized in certain situations to reinforce an autocratic state system? And why it is that those same ideas can become subversive and revolutionary? So that was the idea for the book, though I didn’t think it was going to be quite so timely.”

Orlando Figes, Five Books interview on the best Russian novels

Other books by Orlando Figes

A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution by Orlando Figes

A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution
by Orlando Figes

Natasha’s Dance by Orlando Figes

Natasha’s Dance
by Orlando Figes

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