10 best books on the history of Russia

Many readers of non-fiction literature turn their attention to historical books, but most of them fear that the publications are like boring school textbooks, and their reading will resemble the study of history in school lessons. This is not quite true. In modern Russia, the author of historical writings creates more likely not 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 worthy book for your leisure, which will become a guide to historical events and will be well written. Studying the book assortment can take a long time. In this ranking, we have collected the best books on the history of Russia, which will introduce you to the 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 XIX century. Choosing a path

One of the freshest books in this collection. The work of Sergei Mironenko saw the light only a year ago, but already gained some fame. In his work, the author, who, simultaneously with everything, is a historian and archivist, relies on fragments of archival sources, many of which first saw the light of this very publication.

Questions about serfdom, the development of Russia, the discussion of secret societies of young officers, who then became Decembrists - this is what affects the book Mironenko. The author considers the uprising of the Decembrists to be timely and partly inevitable. Historical facts the writer complements the incredibly deep psychological analysis of the personality of Alexander I, the uniqueness of which will add diversity 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, son of Nikolai Gumilyov and Anna Akhmatova, cannot be ignored. The work, as the name already becomes clear, is devoted to the period of the formation of the Kiev Principality, and stretched to the era of Peter 1.

The last work of Lev Gumilev unusually talented collected. It is easy to read, because its author is an amazing writer. The facts themselves, presented in an interesting and very unusual way, are sometimes supported by unexpected conclusions. It is rather difficult to judge the reliability of the statement, but the book can be an interesting “reading on the topic” for people interested in diverse views on history.

8 Sovereigns of Moscow

Dmitry Balashov, a well-known Soviet novelist, philologist and public figure with a tragic fate, is the author of a fairly wide list of scientific and popular scientific 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 “Moscow Sovereigns”, which includes 10 completed novels and one left manuscript.

The collection opens the book "The Younger Son." This novel is available to 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 coming to the throne of the younger son of Nevsky Daniel. The cycle also includes the trilogy "Holy Russia", compiled from historical facts about the events of the end of the XIV century. In general, the work of Balashov is suitable for readers interested not only in historical novels, but also in more serious scientific works.

7 The history of the Russian nation

Rather difficult, but, nevertheless, a very interesting work of the Russian and Soviet historian, the leader of the Cadet party, who himself was a direct participant in some of the historical events that took place in the early twentieth century. The writer builds his work on attempts to justify the historical path of Russia. In the History of the Russian Nation, the author's articles are collected from the end of the 19th century, when, as a member of the Moscow Archaeological Society, Milyukov creates a work on Slavophilism and its decomposition.

In the book, the author incredibly clearly emphasizes the path of development of the country, which, in his opinion, should develop in the direction of the West, and not remain "original-Russian." Nevertheless, there is a lot of subjectivity in Milyukov’s work, which makes the book even more exciting to study. It can be found not only with historical facts, but also with a specific point of view of one of the historians.

6 Trilogy "Primordial Rus", "Tale 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. “Primordial Russia” will tell the reader about the VI century of our era and about the events taking place at that time in Russia. The increased attention of readers was also determined by the absence of other sources of information about ancient Russia, which would describe the simple life of the Slavs, the defense against the raids of nomads and the formation of a special culture.

The continuation of the first book was the "Tale of ancient years" and "Great Russia", telling about the IX and XI centuries, respectively. Both became novels, chronicles and the best examples of historical prose of the mid-twentieth century. Here, as in the opening trilogy book, both the way of life, and the culture of the Russian people, as well as the history of the battle of the Novgorodians with the Norman invasion are described. For the reader, the trilogy will be a fascinating excursion not only in ancient Russia, but also at the time of the publication of books.

5 Russian history

One of the most popular classical collections on the history of Russia. The five-volume book of Kliuchevskiy looks more like educational literature for a closer look at historical events. Sometimes, for better understanding, it is necessary to investigate the described events more deeply. In this case, the popular scientific book of the author will help and explain a lot to the floor of the floor.

Certainly, the classic and, most likely, indispensable work of Klyuchevsky will direct interested readers and tell about the formation of Russian history in the period from the beginnings and the creation of statehood to the reforms of the end of the XIX century. The presence of an incredible number of gift editions will make reading the collection not only interesting, but also enjoyable.

4 The history of the Russian state

It is impossible to make a rating of the best books on the history of Russia, without at least giving a paragraph to the works of Boris Akunin. A specific work is more like a collection of works - the cycle consists of 13 volumes, each of which is dedicated to a particular period in the history of our country. The work begins with stories about the formation of Russia, about the formation of the state in a more or less habitual way for a modern person.Ends with information about the last reign.

Despite the stormy and rather ambiguous response of critics to the large-scale work of Akunin, mainly consisting of accusations of unreliability of 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 deviate from the usual concepts of a historical novel and history textbook.

3 War and Peace

It is difficult enough to choose the best work of art for this rating, but the epic novel of Tolstoy has no equal. Of course, you can argue and try to refute his belonging to the category of books about the history of Russia, however, if you analyze the content, you can come to an 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 the volume, at a later age is read easily and with interest, while the plot itself pushes the reader to a more detailed study of the question of the Patriotic War. The novel is also an excellent source of information about the Russian life and customs of the beginning of the XIX century.

2 History of Russia since ancient times

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

From the point of view of Solovyov, history is a complete and gradually changing organism that moves in the right direction, and each of its actions is natural and inevitable. According to this view, it is not at all necessary to divide history into periods, rulers or parts. This view helps in the formation of their own opinions and positions. Despite the criticism, the Solov'ev'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 at school lessons of literature and history of Russia. The outstanding Russian writer, author of the sentimental “Poor Lisa”, incredibly popular at the end of the 18th century, devoted more than 12 years to the creation of multivolume work, but, unfortunately, could not complete it. The main goal of the author was to write a work that would be able to popularize the history of the fatherland, because at that time the upper classes knew European history better than their own. The meeting enjoyed incredible popularity. The result of such work was the title of historiographer, which Karamzin received.

The writing is a kind of Russian chronicle, devoid of bias and excessive criticism. Since all the publications of that time were thoroughly checked before being printed, the author, of course, could not be biased with respect to certain issues. The book, at first glance, may seem unprepared to the reader difficult to learn. But, of course, it is a must-have for acquaintance with Russian history.

Popular vote - which book on the history of Russia do you think is the best?
We vote!

History of Russian Goverment

History of Russia since ancient times

War and Peace

The history of the Russian state

Russian history

Trilogy "Primordial Rus", "Tale of Ancient Years" and "Great Russia"

The history of the Russian nation

Sovereigns of Moscow

From Russia to Russia

Alexander I and the Decembrists: Russia in the first quarter of the XIX century. Choosing a path

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

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

Total voted: 35

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