Ruheloses Russland : 3000 Jahre Geschichte in Karten

by Ian Barnes

Der britische Historiker und Verfasser zahlreicher historischer Atlanten, Ian Barnes, widmet sich der bewegten Vergangenheit des Riesenreiches. 150 detaillierte Landkarten und Abbildungen illustrieren die wichtigsten kulturellen, politischen, wirtschaftlichen, militärischen und geopolitischen Veränderungen der russischen Geschichte. Sachkundige und bündige Texte in chronologischer Ordnung erläutern das faszinierende Bildmaterial. Angefangen bei den ersten slawischen Stämmen und der Christianisierung, über Iwan den Schrecklichen, das Zarentum und Katharina die Große, bis zu den großen Umwälzungen des 20. Jahrhunderts und den Auseinandersetzungen um die Krim im 21. Jahrhundert: Barnes einzigartiger historischer Atlas bietet eine umfassende, übersichtliche Darstellung russischer Geschichte, die die komplexe Vergangenheit des außergewöhnlichen Landes veranschaulicht. Ein Glanzstück unter den historischen Atlanten, pünktlich zum 100. Jahrestag der Februarrevolution.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Russian History, Geography, Maps

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 27, 2015

Reviews

[Honza Prchal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Other than a very few quibbles, one being Russia's supposedly justified alarm at NATO anti-missile radars in Romania (the set-up was far too small to stop what is now a routine Russian drone strike, much less something serious, but it did help a lot in preventing Iranian rockets from flying into both Israel and Europe), this is an excellent book.
I wish the author would have kept place name spellings consistent between the maps he used and his own writing, but with the magic of Siri and Bing searches, I figured it all out quite quickly when I forgot where some place was and decided I wanted to remember.
A little more on White and Red Russian difficulties with peasant revolts, especially during the Civil war, but before the Revolution and afterwards, too, would have been welcome. My only serious complaint is about the absence of any mention of the Great Abatis Line and the problem of steppe slavers from the Muslims to the Mongols to the Muslims.
Again, these are, all but the one, quibbles, and for both beginners and experts, the book is excellent, especially the geographic breakdown of rainfall patterns to arable land. It would be an excellent teaching companion to a Western Civ. Course or that modern abomination, a World History course.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. A well done historical atlas. The plethora of maps cover the entire sweep of Russian history. The text provides enough background to give a good overview of what each period or event map serves to illustrate.

Book is current through 2014 (final maps deal with current Russia-Ukraine conflict).

[Debi Emerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book. After reading Dr. Barnes' Historical Atlas of the Bible, I expected an equally good history of Russia. Instead he glosses over the early years, including WWI and the Russian Revolution, barely mentioning any of the leaders. He then spends much of the rest of the book discussing WWII, almost battle by battle. He then reverts to an overview of the years after WWII, getting a little more detailed after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The maps were interesting, but often confusing as I wasn't sure just what they were supposed to be illustrating. All in all, a disappointment.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 / 5.0

Love my maps! Informative succinct narrative accompanies beautiful uncluttered maps. Big format is easy to study and Legends are clear and helpful. Really impressed with narration. Excellent primer on Russian History.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative. Detailed maps. The text was a bit small and overwhelming, but author packed a lot into one book.

[Aleksei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but obviously presents a western bias of the events

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely maps and good explanations. Marred by some editing errors, which you have to forgive, since the author sadly passed away before the publication of this work. ("And Quietly Flowers the Don"? Ouch.)

Here are some interesting passages:
"As the historian looks in detail ... it is easy to note Russia's size and then forget it, but in reality there were few aspects of Russian life on which the country's enormous size did not have a major impact."

"The condition of the Russian peoples has been affected by major communications problems that have driven Russian leaders into a continuous search for the development of trade links and defensible frontiers. The Russian land mass is surrounded by five seas - the Baltic, the Black, the Arctic, the Caspian, and the Pacific. The interior is drained by several river systems: the Ob-Irtysh in western Siberia; the Onon-Shilka-Amur, which flows into the Pacific and forms part of the Russo-Chinese border; the Volga; the Yenesei; and the Lena. All are wholly or partially ice-bound in winter, as are the seas. Access to the latter has been fought over by many other people: Turks, Poles, Danes, Swedes, Germans, Tatars, Chinese and Japanese..."

And a neat way of describing what Catherine the Great was up to in the 1790's: "Catherine never interfered with French affairs, even after the king and queen were guillotined in 1793, preferring other countries to confront France with counter-revolutionary armies while Russia digested more Polish territory."

[Riet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit boek valt een beetje tegen. Waarschijnlijk interessanter als je nog niets over de geschiedenis van Rusland gelezen hebt. Er zijn wel heel veel verduidelijkende kaarten. Wel een goed overzicht, maar naar mijn smaak te beknopt.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've long been fascinated by maps and by Russian/Soviet history; this atlas is a marvelous combination of both. It's dense yet readable, with colorful maps depicting Russian geographical, cultural, political histories.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant historical atlas combining beautiful and detailed maps with useful explanatory text. Worth every penny!