Between East and West: The Origins of Modern Russia: 862-1953

by R.D. Charques

The authoritative short history of Russia, from the mysterious origins of the nation-state to the death of Stalin. A classic work now back in print for the first time since 1956―and still regarded as one of the groundbreaking books on the subject―this narrative history of Russia was the first to encompass the myth-befogged beginnings of the nation-state, the rise and cataclysmic fall of tsarism, and the Spartan years of the U.S.S.R. Charques emphasizes three points of that autocracy has played a dominant role throughout all of Russian history;that serfdom is the fabric of Russia’s social history; and that it is of paramount importance to recognize Russia’s present regime under Putin and Medvedev as the latest phase in along history of oppression. 8 pages of black & white illustrations

Genres: Historical, Nonfiction, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jonathan Dauermann]

While this book was a valuable introduction to a subject I had hitherto been shamefully ignorant of, it bears noting that the book was originally published in 1956. As such, the book has a very heavy anti-Russia bias and a distinct Cold War agenda. There is a lot of valuable summation of Russia's tragic early history of Mongol domination and how that arguably retarded the agricultural development of the country, but literally every single leader of Russia is portrayed as brutal, incompetent, and/or genuinely evil. I'm glad I read this book, nevertheless, since it has sparked my interest in more specific periods of Russian history, but as a work of history, I must say this is woefully out of date and unfair.

Still, as I'm a history geek...3 stars. Covering all of Russian History in 225 pages is tough work, and judged strictly as a sweeping summary of an immense subject, this book does an admirable job of covering the basics, albeit with that aforementioned heavy bias.