10 best books on the history of Russia

Many readers of non-fiction literature turn their attention to historical books, but most of them are afraid that the publications look like boring school textbooks, and reading them will resemble studying history in school lessons. This is not entirely true. In modern Russia, the author of historical works creates rather than a textbook, but an interesting art book, in the course of reading which you can plunge into the incredibly exciting world of the past.

Nevertheless, it is quite difficult to choose a book worthy for your leisure time, which will become a guide to historical events, and will be well written. Studying the book assortment can take a long time.In this rating, we have collected the best books on the history of Russia, which will introduce you to authors who deserve special attention.

TOP - 10 best books on the history of Russia

10 Alexander I and the Decembrists: Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century. Path choice

One of the most recent books in this collection. The work of Sergei Mironenko was published only a year ago, but has already gained some fame. In his work, the author, who, at the same time, is a historian and archivist, relies on fragments of archival sources, many of which first saw the light in this publication.

Questions about serfdom, the development of Russia, the discussion of secret societies of young officers, who later became the Decembrists - this is what Mironenko touches on in the book. The author considers the uprising of the Decembrists timely and partly inevitable. The writer supplements the historical facts with an incredibly deep psychological analysis of the personality of Alexander I, the uniqueness of which will add variety to the study of this book.

9 From Russia to Russia

Despite criticism and condemnation in the absence of reliable facts and the falsity of the theories set forth in the work, the work of Lev Gumilyov, the son of Nikolai Gumilyov and Anna Akhmatova, cannot be ignored. The work, as it becomes clear from the title, is dedicated to the period of the formation of the Kyiv Principality, and stretched until the era of Peter 1.

The last work of Lev Gumilyov is assembled with extraordinary talent. It is easy to read, because its author is an amazing writer. The facts themselves, stated in an interesting and very unusual way, are sometimes supported by unexpected conclusions.It is rather difficult to judge the reliability of what is stated, but the book can be an interesting "reading on the topic" for people interested in versatile views on history.

8 sovereigns of Moscow

The well-known Soviet novelist, philologist and public figure with a tragic fate Dmitry Balashov is the author of a fairly wide list of scientific and popular science publications. As a serious reading, you can choose any of his studies published in one of the scientific almanacs of Russia. However, the greatest interest for the reader is the cycle "The Princes of Moscow", which includes 10 completed novels and one abandoned manuscript.

The collection opens with the book "The Younger Son". This novel will tell the reader about the relationship between the sons of Alexander Nevsky, as well as about the historical changes in the system of government after the accession to the throne of the youngest son of Nevsky Daniel. The cycle also includes the trilogy "Holy Russia", collected from historical facts about the events of the late XIV century. In general, Balashov's work is suitable for readers interested not only in historical novels, but also in more serious scientific works.

7 History of the Russian nation

A rather difficult, but, nevertheless, very interesting work of a Russian and Soviet historian, the leader of the Cadets party, who himself was a direct participant in some of the historical events that took place at the beginning of the 20th century. The writer builds his work on attempts to substantiate the historical path of Russia.The History of the Russian Nation contains the author's articles from the end of the 19th century, when, still a member of the Moscow Archaeological Society, Milyukov created a work on Slavophilism and its decay.

In the book, the author incredibly clearly emphasizes the path of development of the country, which, in his opinion, should develop towards the West, and not remain "originally Russian." Nevertheless, there is a lot of subjectivity in Milyukov's work, which makes the book even more exciting to study. In it you can get acquainted not only with historical facts, but also with the specific point of view of one of the historians.

6 Trilogy "Original Russia", "Tales of Ancient Years", "Great Russia"

Obvious bestsellers of the mid-twentieth century in the USSR, Ivanov's books were hard to find, but they were crazy popular among all segments of the population. "Original Russia" will tell the reader about the 6th century AD and about the events taking place at that time on the territory of Russia. The increased attention of readers was also due to the lack of other sources of information about ancient Russia, which would describe the simple life of the Slavs, defense against nomadic raids and the formation of a special culture.

The continuation of the first book was "Tales of Ancient Years" and "Great Russia", telling about the 9th and 11th centuries, respectively. Both became novels-chronicles and the best examples of historical prose of the mid-twentieth century. Here, as in the book that opens the trilogy, both the way of life and the peculiarities of the culture of the Russian people are described, as well as the history of the battle of the Novgorodians with the Norman invasion. For the reader, the trilogy will become an exciting excursion not only into ancient Russia, but also at the time when the books were published.

5 Russian history

One of the most popular classical collections on the history of Russia. Klyuchevsky's five-volume book is more like educational literature for a closer study of historical events. Sometimes, for a better understanding, it is necessary to study the events described in more depth. In this case, the author's popular science book will help and explain a lot.

Definitely a classic and, most likely, indispensable work of Klyuchevsky will guide interested readers and tell about the formation of Russian history in the period from the origins and the creation of statehood to the reforms of the late 19th century. The presence of an incredible number of gift editions will make reading the collection not only interesting, but also enjoyable.

4 History of the Russian state

It is impossible to rank the best books on the history of Russia without devoting at least a paragraph to the work of Boris Akunin. A specific work is more like a collection of works - the cycle consists of 13 volumes, each of which is devoted to a particular period in the history of our country. The work opens with stories about the formation of Russia, about the formation of the state in a form more or less familiar to modern man. Ends with information about the last reign.

Despite the stormy and rather ambiguous response of critics to Akunin's large-scale work, mainly consisting of accusations of unreliable facts, it will still be useful and interesting for the reader to get acquainted with at least some part of the cycle in order to move away from the usual concepts of a historical novel and a history textbook.

3 War and Peace

It is difficult enough to choose the best work of art for this rating, but Tolstoy's epic novel has no equal. Of course, one can object and try to refute its belonging to the category of books about the history of Russia, however, if we analyze the content, we can come to the obvious conclusion about the total change in the fate of the main characters after the onset of the Patriotic War of 1812.

The book, so unloved by schoolchildren, in particular, for its volume, at a later age is read easily and with interest, and its plot itself pushes the reader to a more detailed study of the issue of the Patriotic War. The novel is also an excellent source of information about Russian life and customs in the early 19th century.

2 History of Russia since ancient times

Another fundamental work in this ranking, without which it is impossible to imagine the classical study of history. The original "History ..." was published for 28 years - from 1851 to 1879. The last volume, which became 29, was published after Solovyov's death. The work is rightfully considered the most filled with facts and dates necessary for a better study of theory. This work became an opposition to the masterpiece of Karamzin, already described earlier in our TOP.

From Solovyov's point of view, history is an integral and gradually changing organism that moves in the right direction, and each of its actions is natural and inevitable. According to this opinion, it is not necessary at all to divide history into periods, rulers or parts. This point of view helps in the formation of one's own opinion and position. Despite criticism, Solovyov's work is a textbook and must be studied.

1 History of Russian Goverment

The book, which, most likely, is known to everyone who was a little attentive in the school lessons of literature and history of Russia. An outstanding Russian writer, the author of the incredibly popular sentimental story “Poor Lisa” at the end of the 18th century, devoted more than 12 years to the creation of a multi-volume work, but, unfortunately, could not complete it. The main goal of the author was to write a work that could popularize the history of the fatherland, because at that time the upper classes knew European history better than their own. The meeting was incredibly popular. The result of such work was the title of historiographer, which Karamzin received.

The work is a kind of Russian chronicle, devoid of bias and excessive criticism. Since all publications of that time were carefully checked before going to print, the author, of course, could not be biased in relation to certain issues. The book, at first glance, may seem difficult for the unprepared reader to study. But, of course, it is a must-have work for getting acquainted with Russian history.

Popular vote - which book on the history of Russia do you consider the best?
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History of Russian Goverment

History of Russia since ancient times

War and Peace

History of the Russian state

Russian history

Trilogy "Original Russia", "Tales of Ancient Years" and "Great Russia"

History of the Russian nation

sovereigns of Moscow

From Russia to Russia

Alexander I and the Decembrists: Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century. Path choice

History of Russia XX century. How Russia went to the twentieth century

History of Russia from Rurik to Putin: People. Developments. Dates

Total voted: 78

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