07/04/2022
“No other country has reimagined its past so frequently,” writes historian Figes (The Europeans) in this rich and immersive look at how Russia’s national myths are “continuously reconfigured and repurposed to suit its present needs and reimagine its future.” Examining Kievan Rus ruler Grand Prince Vladimir’s baptism into the Eastern Orthodox Church in 988 and Moscow’s emergence, in Russian Orthodox Church doctrine, as the “last true seat of the Christian faith” after the fall of Constantinople in the 15th century, Figes asserts that Russia’s leaders have used these and other legends to rewrite history according to their political agendas. He also details how Catherine the Great supported claims that Russians were descended from Vikings in order to defend autocracy and promote her imperialist ambitions, and traces the mystical notion of the “Russian soul”—“a universal spirit of Christian love and brotherhood innate only in the Russian people, whose providential mission was to save the world from egotism, greed and all the other Western sins”—to Nikolai Gogol’s novel Dead Souls. Figes’s fluid prose (“Nobles gave up Clicquot and Lafite for kvas and vodka, haute cuisine for cabbage soup,” he quips in describing how Russian aristocrats reacted to the French Revolution) keeps the jam-packed narrative from getting bogged down in intricate historical matters. Russophiles will savor this illuminating survey. (Sept.)
"An indispensable manual for making sense of Russia’s present . . . The Story of Russia shows how myth and fact mix dangerously in the tales this crucial country tells about itself."
—The Guardian
"A lucid chronological journey that ably illustrates how narratives from Russia's past have been used to shape its autocratic present."
—The Observer
"Impressive and deeply immersive . . . Figes speaks on every page in the crisp, sober manner of a newsreader, while observing the action unfold with an eagle’s eye . . . It will be a small tragedy if Russia-watchers don’t read The Story of Russia."
—Sara Wheeler, The Spectator
"Excellent."
—The Times (UK)
"Crucially relevant . . . convincing . . . A lucid, astute text that unpacks the myths of Russian history to help explain present-day motivations and actions."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Rich and immersive . . . Figes’s fluid prose keeps the jam-packed narrative from getting bogged down in intricate historical matters. Russophiles will savor this illuminating survey."
—Publishers Weekly
"Nowhere is politics defined more by history than in Russia. Nowhere is the line between myth and history so blurred and nowhere is distinguishing the two more consequential. The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes is both a brilliant work of historical scholarship and an essential contribution to deciphering our current crisis."
—Adam Tooze, author of Crashed
“If you really want to understand Putin’s Russia today, anchored in its past of myths, then you simply have to read Figes’s superb account in The Story of Russia.”
—Antony Beevor, author of Stalingrad
"A magnificent, magisterial thousand-year history of Russia by one of the masters of Russian scholarship."
—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin
“A book of singular power and significance and exquisite prose that takes us to the beating heart of history and culture and helps us to understand our own times as well as those past. A stunningly precise and affecting read, one that left me wanting even more from this brilliant writer.”
—Philippe Sands, author of East West Street
"Urgent and revelatory and brilliantly told, it’s all the things you pray a book will be when you first pick it up."
—Peter Morgan, creator of The Crown
"A brilliantly concentrated meditation on the power of myth and history, and the ability of both to form and deform, guide and misguide, the present. Thoughtful, nuanced, beautifully written and above all persuasive, it shows how we are all trapped in the loops and coils of myth, memory and forgetting, and demonstrates the urgent need for historians to remember, and insist on the truth. The Story of Russia acts as a brilliant political counterpart to Figes' wonderful cultural history, Natasha's Dance. The two books now stand together, perfectly complimentary wings of a diptych of genius, the crowning works of a great historian at the peak of his powers."
—William Dalrymple, author of The Anarchy
08/01/2022
The divisive Ukraine War and Vladimir Putin's intentions are clarified by Russia's past. Grand Prince Vladimir ("Volodymyr" to Ukrainians) ruled the first iteration of the Russian state, Kievan Rus, founded in 988, which united the modern nations of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. When Putin refers to military actions towards Belarus and Ukraine, his motives are to reunite the lands of Russia lost in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It's also a reinforcement of a long-held reciprocal aristocratic system, where Putin's oligarchs are dependent upon him for their wealth, and he in turn receives their political support. Sadly, these historical justifications for war cannot be verified. Very little contemporary history is recorded and is often skewed to the country of origin. Russia's history is ill-defined, a narrative bent towards the needs of the sitting ruler. Figes (history, Birkbeck Coll., London Univ.; The Europeans) remains an authoritative interpreter of Russian history, distilling complex and disputed facts into an engrossing narrative. Even veteran and informed historians will be edified by this scholarly tome. VERDICT A necessary addition to Russian history collections and required reading for those wanting to understand the dispute over Ukraine.—Jessica A. Bushore
Figes's history of Russia focuses on the various ideas behind the Russian people's view of themselves. Examining the more than one thousand years from the days of Kievan Rus to the spring of 2022, the author sees a country that has "reimagined its own story" unlike any other country in history. Stefan Rudnicki is a splendid narrator for this work. His deep, stentorian voice moves at the right pace. His enunciation is crisp, and while he uses anglicized pronunciations for many Russian words and names, he certainly makes this a most interesting production. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
★ 2022-06-08
An expert on Russia delivers a crucially relevant study of a country that has been continuously “subjected to the vicissitudes of ruling ideologies.”
Wolfson History Prize winner Figes, one of the world’s leading authorities on Russian history and culture, shows how, over centuries, Russian autocrats have manipulated intertwined layers of mythology and history to suit their political and imperial purposes. Regarding current affairs, the author argues convincingly that to understand Putin’s aggressive behavior toward Ukraine and other neighboring nations, it is essential to grasp how Russia has come to see itself within the global order, especially in Asia and Europe. Figes emphasizes the intensive push and pull between concepts of East and West since the dubious founding of Kievan Rus, “the first Russian state,” circa 980. Russia’s geography meant it had few natural boundaries and was vulnerable to invasion—e.g., by the Mongols—and its mere size often required strong, central military control. It was in Moscow’s interests to increase its territorial boundaries and keep its neighbors weak, a strategy still seen today. Figes explores the growth of the “patrimonial autocracy” and examines how much of the mechanics of the country’s autocracy, bureaucracy, military structure, oligarchy, and corruption were inherited from three centuries of Mongol rule. From Peter the Great to Catherine the Great to Alexander II (the reformer who freed the serfs) and through the Bolsheviks to Stalin: In most cases, everything belonged to the state, and there were few societal institutions to check that power. “This imbalance—between a dominating state and a weak society—has shaped the course of Russian history,” writes the author in a meaningful, definitive statement. Today, Putin repudiates any hint of Westernizing influences (Peter the Great) while elevating the Eastern (Kievan Rus, the Orthodox Church). In that, he is reminiscent of Stalin, who recognized the need for patriotic fervor and national myths and symbols to unite and ensure the oppression of the masses.
A lucid, astute text that unpacks the myths of Russian history to help explain present-day motivations and actions.