Kort M. A Brief History of Russia

Facts on File, 2008. — 310 p. — ISBN 978-0-8160-7113-5.This book serves as a comprehensive guide to the history and culture of Russia. It covers the history of Russia, the world's largest nation - from its early beginnings in the ninth century when Rurik, a Varangian king, established the first Russian state near Kiev, to the current presidency of Vladimir Putin - is extensive and fascinating.Detailing the social, economic, and political changes and crises that the people of Russia have had to endure, "A Brief History of Russia" provides a comprehensive and accessible account of this vast country's history. A chronology, bibliography, suggested reading, and other helpful features enrich this invaluable book.Its coverage includes: The conquest and rule of Russia by the Mongol Golden Horde; The reign of terror by Ivan the Terrible; The start of modernization under Peter the Great; The rise to the center of the European power under Catherine the Great; The Russian Revolution and the emergence of the superpower Soviet Union; The disintegration of the Soviet Union; and, The political, social, and economic problems that the country has faced since then.Before the Russians, Kievan Rus, and Muscovite Russia (Tenth Century b.c.e. — 1462 c.e.)
Independence and Unification: The Last Rurikids to the First Romanovs (1462—1694)
Imperial Russia: The Eras of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great (1694—1801)
The Nineteenth-Century Crisis: The Mystic and the Knout (1801—1855)
Reform, Reaction, and Revolution (1855—1917)
The Golden and Silver Ages: Russian Cultural Achievement from Pushkin to World War I (1820—1917)
Soviet Russia: Utopian Dreams and Dystopian Realities (1917—1953)
Soviet Russia: Reform, Decline, and Collapse (1953—1991)
Post-Soviet Russia: Yeltsin and Putin (1991—2008)
Conclusion: The Russian RiddleBasic Facts about Russia
ChronologySuggested Reading