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thetarantulalounge's review
5.0
My wife and I recently watched the fantastic adaptation of War & Peace starring Lily James and Paul Dano (and Little Women’s James Norton, if you’ve seen it. That was my final straw – I had to learn more about Russian history. Everything I knew was from writers Tolstoy and Dostoevsky; as well as Doctor Zhivago and other movies. My usual search for history book advice on the internet wasn’t fruitful – any recommended book would be shot down by others as incorrectly biased or wrongly focused. Finally I just picked a random book at the library. I think I got the right one!
Martin Sixsmith isn’t writing about the subject from a distance. He studied and worked in Eurasia for decades as a journalist. He was there for a lot of the events from the 1970s-1990s firsthand. His presence gives him credibility while his writing background gives him the chops to create a coherent, educational, and enjoyable narrative. I noticed Amazon lists this as a textbook. It’s not dry like most of the history textbooks I had.
The book’s timeline is broad. Sixsmith covers Kievan Rus the Viking uniting the people in what would become Russia at their behest and goes all the way to Putin’s rise to power. Sixsmith gives more than just a string of events, though. He pontificates on why exactly Russia has been a churning hotbed of resolve and revolution. The author agrees with Russian who believe that the geography of the nation plays a large part in its national character and consciousness. It feels the pull of European liberalism and values as well as the need for autocratic reign as seen in its Asian neighbors. It feels danger from both sides, as well as from the South. He also notes the Russians’ own ambivalence about the need for strength in leadership over democracy. In addition to the heavier stuff, Sixsmith includes a lot of references to great art and literature of the various times giving the reader plenty of other writers to explore in order to learn more.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about Russia and the Soviet Union.
Martin Sixsmith isn’t writing about the subject from a distance. He studied and worked in Eurasia for decades as a journalist. He was there for a lot of the events from the 1970s-1990s firsthand. His presence gives him credibility while his writing background gives him the chops to create a coherent, educational, and enjoyable narrative. I noticed Amazon lists this as a textbook. It’s not dry like most of the history textbooks I had.
The book’s timeline is broad. Sixsmith covers Kievan Rus the Viking uniting the people in what would become Russia at their behest and goes all the way to Putin’s rise to power. Sixsmith gives more than just a string of events, though. He pontificates on why exactly Russia has been a churning hotbed of resolve and revolution. The author agrees with Russian who believe that the geography of the nation plays a large part in its national character and consciousness. It feels the pull of European liberalism and values as well as the need for autocratic reign as seen in its Asian neighbors. It feels danger from both sides, as well as from the South. He also notes the Russians’ own ambivalence about the need for strength in leadership over democracy. In addition to the heavier stuff, Sixsmith includes a lot of references to great art and literature of the various times giving the reader plenty of other writers to explore in order to learn more.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about Russia and the Soviet Union.
chrisjp's review
3.0
An interesting read that suffers for the same reason it excels - it's 1000 years of history in a relatively short read.
After reading Russia: A 100-Year Chronicle of the Wild East I was left with some greater understanding of Russia as a concept, as an idea, but (be it my fault or the book's) I couldn't tell you any of that history.
The general thrust of the narrative is that as a historically backward country/empire every modernisation/democratisation attempt ended in failure and a pivot back to authoritarianism, and that's sort of it. Yes it is obviously more complicated than that, but being a whistle-stop-tour of Russian history these complications aren't thoroughly explored, so instead I was left with an impression, an idea, rather than a history.
This is would be a great primer for a deep dive into Russian history, and I wish I had read it sooner (or at least before reading biographies of Putin), but to better understand Russia more reading will be required. Alternatively, if you want a broad stroke history perhaps this is the book to do it, but I can't help but feel focusing perhaps on just 500 years, or maybe the last couple of centuries, would be more effective.
After reading Russia: A 100-Year Chronicle of the Wild East I was left with some greater understanding of Russia as a concept, as an idea, but (be it my fault or the book's) I couldn't tell you any of that history.
The general thrust of the narrative is that as a historically backward country/empire every modernisation/democratisation attempt ended in failure and a pivot back to authoritarianism, and that's sort of it. Yes it is obviously more complicated than that, but being a whistle-stop-tour of Russian history these complications aren't thoroughly explored, so instead I was left with an impression, an idea, rather than a history.
This is would be a great primer for a deep dive into Russian history, and I wish I had read it sooner (or at least before reading biographies of Putin), but to better understand Russia more reading will be required. Alternatively, if you want a broad stroke history perhaps this is the book to do it, but I can't help but feel focusing perhaps on just 500 years, or maybe the last couple of centuries, would be more effective.
dnibhriain's review
4.0
Well written and informative. The first 900 years up to 1917 only take about 200 of the 550ish pages so if you're more interested in that section of history this may not be the book for you. He also skims over the Brezhnev years quite fast. I think the author is probably somewhat biased against communism in Russia, but I suppose it is hard to get an author who is completely neutral on the issue. It would have been interesting to hear more about propaganda and why lots of people did like Stalin and Lenin. The chapters on the persecution of poets and musicians under Stalin were interesting as it was something I hadn't heard much about. I also like that he adds in lots of quotes from songs and poems, it adds an interesting level to the book which I haven't seen before, but equally you could easily just not read them if you don't care as they don't disturb the flow of the book much.
megami's review
3.0
I understand that it is difficult to cover a huge swathe of history and do justice to everything, but I would have preferred to have more information on 'every day' life rather than the same 'great men/women' of history that I already knew about.
I did appreciate that this was a recording of the BBC series, with the music, voices and effects.
I did appreciate that this was a recording of the BBC series, with the music, voices and effects.
zachkuhn's review
5.0
Great history of early Russian civilization and the forces driving 19th, 20th, and 21st century Russia.
halfmanhalfbook's review
4.0
A huge tome covering 1000 years of Russian history, and the book of the Radio 4 series.
The first 180 odd pages cover the first 900 years up to the revolution, and then the remainder is from the 1917 revolution. It is a comprehensive history and written in a eminently readable way.
Well worth a read for anyone interested in Russian, and its influence on Europe and the wider world.
The first 180 odd pages cover the first 900 years up to the revolution, and then the remainder is from the 1917 revolution. It is a comprehensive history and written in a eminently readable way.
Well worth a read for anyone interested in Russian, and its influence on Europe and the wider world.
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