The Penguin History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty-first Century, Fifth Edition

Mr Robert I would loved it had you explained, the constant demonisation of Mr Putin , Mr Putin came to power as a pro western leader only to be mocked and turned away . It’s a bit shocking to me that people are Russia expert but haven’t been there can not speak the language, never engaged with the Russians in a debate , never want to listen to other side .The great Russia expert was and will always be Steven F Cohen .

This book narrates the history of Russia, from the beginning of the 20th Century till the end of that century. It gives a great overview of Russia's, incredible, tumultuous yet in terms unimaginable violent century. This starts off right at the beginning, with first the First World War and from the Russian Revolution, which is arguably and by many regarded as the most important event of the 20th Century. From Stalin's succession of Lenin and all the problems along with that, his Terror, WW2, on to the time of Putin. It is a most cruel, inhumane and violent story, although that is not always clearly emphasized in this book and I think it should have. From that perspective, the book clearly was written a while ago and does suffer from not incorporating any new research as Figes' work on private life in the age of Stalin, the book on Stalin's youth or ongoing Polish research in to what extend the fall of the Soviet Union was in fact staged or not. The author does offer the possibility that Gorbachev, might not have acted out of humane convictions, but in order to protect Russia as a country and through the lines Service is not always as positive about Gorbachev as I remember, the media spoke of him, or even in Oliver Stone's recent book/documentary. I also always thought that Yeltsin was protecting Gorbachev (or that is what I remember from the newsflashes in the 90's) but it here it more looks like he actually substantially contributed to his downfall. As such I would have liked to read a bit more about the fall of the Soviet Union, not to mention Russia's invasion in Afghanistan or, Russia's role in WW2, which is clearly undercut here or Trotsky. But then, it is an introduction, and as such it cannot go too deep. I serve as an excellent introduction to read more about specific personalities or events and it was exactly for that reason that I read it.

For study

Excellent factual, but interesting, account of the last hundred years of Russian history. As usual delivered well packaged and quickly.

A clear and concise account of the period. There is sufficient detail for A Level students interested in greater depth of understanding.