Historical Biographies Russia

Sixteenth-century Russia remains, for most Western audiences, a dark and terrifying space, wrapped in mystery and myth and isolated from states such as England or France, whose heroes are well-known throughout Europe. The traditional dichotomy between East and West is most apparent in the discussion of the remarkable political figures that defined this century.

История Петра I — незавершенный исторический труд гениального российского поэта, "солнца русской поэзии", драматурга и прозаика А. С. Пушкина (1799–1837). В нем представлена хронология событий времени правления Петра Великого. Пушкин планировал на ее основании написать Историю Петра I максимум через год. Параллельно он трудился над "Историей Пугачева" и "Капитанской дочкой". Работу прервала дуэль… Николай I запретил печатать рукопись. Причина — автор с большой для того времени смелостью позволил себе рассказать не только о положительных, но и отрицательных качествах императора.

Книга Натальи Громовой Смерти не было и нет: Ольга Берггольц — опыт прочтения судьбы поэта, ставшего символом блокадного Ленинграда. Ольга Берггольц (1910–1975) — поэт, журналист, драматург; лауреат Сталинской премии; "блокадная Мадонна", автор "Февральского дневника", "Ленинградской поэмы" и автобиографической книги "Дневные звёзды". Берггольц была искренне предана советской власти, но не могла не видеть страшную действительность.

Described as the 'most beautiful princess in Europe', and a woman 'capable of arousing profane passion', this is the story of a woman whose life combined privilege and tragedy, love and riches, conviction and courage, humanity and inhumanity.

At last a book about the so-called "Mad Monk" of Imperial Russia that lays to rest the myths and reveals the truth about one of the most controversial characters in human history while exploring the impact his murder had on a dynasty, a people, and a country.

In a forgotten chapter of history, 1.5 million Polish civilians - arbitrarily arrested by Stalin as enemies of the people following the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939 - were deported to slave-labor camps throughout the most inhospitable forests and steppes of the Soviet Union. The Ice Road is the gripping story of young Stefan Waydenfeld and his family, deported by cattle car in 1940 to the frozen wastes of the Russian arctic north.

Cambridge spy Guy Burgess was a supreme networker. He also set a gold standard for conflicts of interest, working variously for the BBC, MI5, MI6, the War Office, the Ministry of Information and the KGB. Yet Burgess was never challenged by Britain's spy catchers: his superiors were convinced he was too much of a liability to have been recruited by Moscow. Now, with a major new release of hundreds of files into the National Archives, Purvis and Hulbert reveal just how this charming establishment insider was able to fool everyone for so long.

Elizabeth Petrovna was the Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death. She led the country during the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) and the Seven Years' War (1756-63), left her mark on the service of nobility, the establishment of the Univeresidy of Moscow and the Imperial Academy of Arts; she remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs due to her strong opposition to Prussian policies and her decision not to execute a single person during her reign.

Tsar Nicholas I was the younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I. He "came to represent autocracy personified: infinitely majestic, determined and powerful, hard as stone, and relentless as fate". He inherited his brother's throne despite a revolt against him, and went on to become the most reactionary of all Russian leaders, leading an agressive policy involving many expensive wars. Discover the life and struggles of this influential ruler through this precise, clear and thorough presentation.

Alexander III was Emperor of Russia from 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly conservative and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father, Alexander II. He was a pacifist, focused on the protection of his people; mostly seen as lacking refinement and elegance, he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his subjects. Discover the life and struggles of this influential ruler through this precise, clear and thorough presentation.

Alexander II was Emperor of Russia from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881. He is remembered as Alexander the Liberator, as he led the emancipation of Russia's serfs; during his reign, he kept seeking peace, although the context of the surrounding countries was proving more and more difficult. Although he went down in history as a reformer, his actions were too little too late for the revolutionaries of late imperial Russia, who managed to assassinate him in 1881.

Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, the country's longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d'état when her husband, Peter III, was assassinated. Under her reign, Russia was revitalised; it grew larger and stronger, and was recognised as one of the great powers of Europe. Discover the life and struggles of one of the most influential rulers through this precise, clear and thorough presentation.

Has Ivan Chetvyorty been a wicked and ruthless leader? Has his nation suffered as he pursued his own corrupted agendas? Surely, though, none comes close to the violent, lascivious, vengeful reign of Ivan Chetvyorty Vasilyevich, born to the Rurik Dynasty in the Grand Duchy of Muscovy. Indeed, this man’s period in power was one of the longest in Russian history, lasting more than half a century.

Joseph Stalin ruled Russia with an iron first. As a dictator, he was personally responsible for the deaths of roughly 10 million people. While most write Stalin off as an evil tyrant, there is more to the man than most know - a US Ambassador once said, "I must confess that for me Stalin remains the most inscrutable and contradictory character I have known."

The world has never had its shortage of legends surrounding the lives of supposed mystics, visionaries, and prophets. But few have ever grabbed a hold on pop culture quite like Grigori Rasputin, one of the most shadowy and mysterious figures in Russian history.

True Believer reveals the life of Noel Field, an American who betrayed his country and crushed his family. Field, once a well-meaning and privileged American, spied for Stalin during the 1930s and '40s. Then, a pawn in Stalin's sinister master strategy, Field was kidnapped and tortured by the KGB and forced to testify against his own Communist comrades.

Michal Goleniewski, cover name Sniper, was one of the most important spies of the early Cold War. For two and a half years at the end of the 1950s, as a Lt. Colonel at the top of Poland’s espionage service, he smuggled more than 5,000 top-secret Soviet bloc intelligence and military documents, as well as 160 rolls of microfilm, out from behind the Iron Curtain. In January 1961, he abandoned his wife and children and made a dramatic defection across divided Berlin with his East German mistress to the safety of American territory.

Ivan IV the Terrible was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547, then Tsar of All Russia until his death in 1584. He transformed Russia from a medieval state into an empire, though at immense cost to its people, and its broader, long-term economy. He was described as intelligent and devout, yet given to rages and prone to episodic outbreaks of mental instability that increased with his age. In one such outburst, he killed his son and heir Ivan Ivanovich, which left his younger son, pious but politically ineffectual, to inherit the throne.

With a name like Ivan the Terrible, it comes as no surprise that historians consider this Russian Tsar a psychopath. Yet Ivan’s personality consisted of many dualities. He channeled the Medieval era as he committed mass murder, but he also reformed Russia, centralizing it and bringing it into the Renaissance. He liked to torture animals, but he could also be found in church, banging his head in repentance until it bled. This introduction to his life explores the legacy he was born into and deftly contextualizes his cruelty within the era and culture of his rule.

Peter der Große war zwar persönlich ein Mensch, dem man heute wohl Hyperaktivität diagnostizieren würde, aber er verfolgte konsequent langfristige Ziele, wie er bei der Modernisierung seines Landes und der Gründung von Sankt Petersburg bewies. Russland kennzeichnet sich auch heute durch eine sehr geschichtsbezogene Denkweise - ganz im Gegensatz zur europäischen Politik. Dieses G/Geschichte Porträt nimmt das bis heute zwiespältige Erbe Peters des Großen in den Blick und stellt spannende aktuelle Bezüge her.