Books by Douglas Smith
“Freemasonry started to develop in Russia in Petrine times, but it blossomed under Catherine. It was the start of Russia’s public sphere, Russian society at least in some ways independent from the throne. Douglas Smith offers a perceptive analysis of the ways in which public sphere can function in an unfree and undemocratic country, which doesn’t have open modes political debate. For Russia, the masonic lodges provided a sort of alternative network across social boundaries. Smith shows this role of Masonry.” Read more...
The best books on Catherine the Great
Andrei Zorin, Historian
Interviews where books by Douglas Smith were recommended
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1
Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great
by Isabel de Madariaga -
2
Catherine the Great
by Simon Dixon -
3
Catherine the Great and Potemkin: The Imperial Love Affair
by Simon Sebag Montefiore -
4
Selected Letters of Catherine the Great
by Catherine the Great -
5
Working the Rough Stone: Freemasonry and Society in 18th Century Russia
by Douglas Smith
The best books on Catherine the Great, recommended by Andrei Zorin
The best books on Catherine the Great, recommended by Andrei Zorin
She was born in 1729 as Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, a German princess, but by 1762 had become Empress of All Russia and went on to rule for 34 years as Catherine II. She regarded herself as an enlightened despot who embraced the ideas of the Enlightenment and consorted with the French philosophes. Russian historian Andrei Zorin introduces the remarkably industrious and able politician who is remembered as Catherine the Great.
