Product Description

This is a comprehensive overview of twentieth-century Russian history that treats the years from 1917 to 2000 as a single period and analyses the peculiar mixture of political, economic and social ingredients that made up the Soviet compound. It takes the reader from the age of communist rule to the changes that occurred in 1991 and the more uncertain world of Yeltsin and Putin.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7582 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 704 pages

Synopsis
This is a comprehensive overview of twentieth-century Russian history that treats the years from 1917 to 2000 as a single period and analyses the peculiar mixture of political, economic and social ingredients that made up the Soviet compound. It takes the reader from the age of communist rule to the changes that occurred in 1991 and the more uncertain world of Yeltsin and Putin.

About the Author
Robert Service is a Fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford and Lecturer at the University of Oxford. Most recently he has written LENIN: A BIOGRAPHY and RUSSIA: EXPERIMENT WITH A PEOPLE.

Customer Reviews

A great introduction to Russian history
As a previous reviewer commented, a number of major event, not least the October Revolution, are skimmed over by the author, while seemingly undue importance is given to more minor events. However, I believe Service's intention was for this book to be a preparatory exercise for further reading - the over-throwing of the Tsar, the battle of Stalingrad and the fall of the Berlin Wall are covered in detail elsewhere. A History of Russia gives a great background to a tumultuous twentieth century in the county and sets events in context for further reading. Service is unbiased, backs up his interesting observations and, although sometimes dry, paints a coherent picture of times of momentous change. He is better on the earlier years than more recent ones, but this is a great introduction to the state of Russia today.

handy for an overview
A strange book, it almost dismisses the February Revolution and the abdication of the Tsar in a few lines, but it goes into details on events in the late 80's/early 90's. A good overview of Russian history but missed out on what I was looking for in a book on russia.

A comprehensive beginners guide to 20th century russia
For those seeking an overview of 20th century Russian history it doesn't really get much better than this. However, the sheer scale of events that took place in Russia during this time means that there is an inevitable lack of detail in this one volume history. That said, it is an entertaining and educational read. The chapters concerning the Russian Revolution and the break-up of the USSR are particularly well presented and enjoyable. The latter is of obvoius relevance to anyone wishing to understand 21st century Russia.
"A History of Modern Russia" doesn't have quite the same page-turning excitement as, for example, Simon Sebag Montefiore's recent Stalin biography, but as a beginner's guide to this fascinating period of history it can hardly be bettered. Highly recommended.