The History Book Club discussion
RUSSIA
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INTRODUCTION -RUSSIA
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Russia, the world's largest country, obviously defies a "brief description," as it covers 11 time zones, all climate zones except tropical, with land that stretches almost halfway around the planet.
In fact, by jet from Moscow, it takes about 8 hours to reach Vladivostok on its Pacific Ocean coast. If you were to take that trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, count on your journey taking four days minimum.
Russia has over 1,000 major cities, with 16 having a metro population of more than one million. The most populated cities are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg.
Moscow, the capital, with over 12 million (metro) residents, is the country's major economic and political center - the seat of the President, the government and the State Duma.
The Russian landmass west of the Ural Mountains (shown above in a slightly darker shade of green) is referred to as European Russia by most educational atlases and geography experts. It is not a separate country, but rather called that because of its political, cultural and geographical blendings with Europe.
Historically, the land called Russia was occupied by Mongols, and the likes, for centuries. In the early 17th century, the 300 year control of the Romanov family began, and it was Czar Peter I that really began the transformation of the Russian Empire. After the reign of Queen Catherine II, it emerged as an influential and powerful European force.
This flexible and durable giant somehow survived decades of political uprisings; a bloody civil war, one led by Vladimir Lenin; its participation in World Wars I and II; the tragic oppression of Joseph Stalin, Communism and a long succession of ideological, often brutal, leaders.
In 1991, the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) dissolved, and when that union ended, Russia itself and its former republics all became separate countries.
Today, this super-sized country is led by President Vladimir V. Putin, as he attempts to manage this massive slice of real estate, as well as maintain positive relationships with both Asian, European and Western powers - and what a job he has!
Source:
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Here are some to start the thread
Robert K. Massie a great biography of a monumental man.Utopia in Power: The History of the Soviet Union from 1917 to the Present
(no image or photo in the edition I read; apparently it's been reissued in two volumes, but I am not sure). About the Soviet Union to about 1970, if I recall.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Searing and stunning.
Alexander Dolgun (no photo) The title says what it is.
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This biography of Vladimir Putin traces his life from KGB operative to the Russian presidency. I consider him a very dangerous man and this book supports my supposition. Rather chilling.The Man Without A Face
by
Masha GessenSynopsis
The Man Without a Face is the chilling account of how a low- level, small-minded KGB operative ascended to the Russian presidency and, in an astonishingly short time, destroyed years of progress and made his country once more a threat to her own people and to the world.
Handpicked as a successor by the "family" surrounding an ailing and increasingly unpopular Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin seemed like a perfect choice for the oligarchy to shape according to its own designs. Suddenly the boy who had stood in the shadows, dreaming of ruling the world, was a public figure, and his popularity soared. Russia and an infatuated West were determined to see the progressive leader of their dreams, even as he seized control of media, sent political rivals and critics into exile or to the grave, and smashed the country's fragile electoral system, concentrating power in the hands of his cronies.
As a journalist living in Moscow, Masha Gessen experienced this history firsthand, and for The Man Without a Face she has drawn on information and sources no other writer has tapped. Her account of how a "faceless" man maneuvered his way into absolute-and absolutely corrupt-power has the makings of a classic of narrative nonfiction
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In numbers, the Soviet Union has over 22 million square kilometers, more than 1/6th of the total land mass of the Earth. No other country is more than 10 million km2.
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I would be interested to know if anyone else has read Orlando Figes' books. I recently completed his THE WHISPERERS, about the effect of Stalin's purges on Soviet society and am currently reading his NATASHA'S DANCE, which is a cultural history of Russia.The book about the effect of the purges was fascinating and I had a hard time putting it down. The cultural history is slower going, especially when he gets into areas I know nothing about, like Russian music and Russian painting. But it's keeping me interested enough that I will definitely complete it.
Figes has received some very negative publicity because he anonymously posted very negative Amazon reviews about the books of other Russian historians. He not only vociferously denied this, but then attributed the reviews to his wife before he was forced to admit he had written them. There have also been some criticism of inaccuracies in his books.
Overall, I have to admit that I am still impressed. He is willing to tackle some very difficult subjects. The gulags themselves have been covered in detail before, but not their social effects. In order to cover cultural history you have to have very good powers of synthesis. He is an interesting writer.
Orlando Figes
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Does sound like the books were hard to put down. I will have to give them a whirl. Thanks so much for the post and the adds.
An excellent book on the Soviet gulag system is
Lots of information and very readable.Anne Applebaum
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Much easier that way: (thanks for the add)
by
Anne Applebaum
Ann wrote: "I would be interested to know if anyone else has read Orlando Figes' books. I recently completed his THE WHISPERERS, about the effect of Stalin's purges on Soviet society and am currently reading h..."I read Natasha's Dance some years ago. I enjoy ethnographic and cultural history, and this book provided that information on Russians. Too bad about the author engaging in dodgy practices.
by Orlando Figes
Tomi,I see that Applebaum got the Pulitzer prize for GULAG. Thanks for mentioning this. I need to check it out.
The only books I have read about the Soviet labor camps are The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 by Solzhenitzen, as well as his One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. They were amazing, but I think there has been a lot of archival research since the fall of the Soviet Union. I'm sure Applebaum took advantage of that.
Anne Applebaum
Aleksandr SolzhenitsynGulag
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Her book was very well researched; she cited Solzhenitsyn several times.
Sorry! I just can't seem to get the hang of this!!!
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Russia is the theme this year for a high school academic competition I coach. The students had to read
by
Boris Pasternak
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The Romanovs brought both terror and enlightenment to Russia. This book covers the reign of each Tsar and their effect on Russia.The Romanovs: Ruling Russia 1613-1917
by Lindsey HughesSynopsis
For 300 years the history of Russia was inextricably linked to one family: The Romanovs. Claiming a divine right to reign and tracing the family lineage back to Peter the Great, they were Russia's second and last imperial dynasty and, for better or worse, as Lindsey Hughes demonstrates, shaped the country's history for three centuries until their downfall and murder in 1918. 17th century Russia was riddled with chaos, internal disorder, rioting, and a constant threat of foreign invasion. During the rule of Peter the great, Russia was transformed into an empire by his introduction of trade with Europe and aggressive military campaigns. Through the impact of Peter the Great, followed by the continuing influences of Michael, Ivan, Catherine II, Nicholas I and Alexander III, the Romanovs undoubtedly shaped the politics, society, art and philosophy of their times and lead to the establishment of Russia as one of the great world powers. But when the Romanovs gathered to celebrate their tercentenary in 1913, dark clouds were gathering. The infamous mystic Rasputin had prophesized their demise and his unpopular influence on the Tsar was growing. The strain of the First World War had spread unrest throughout Russia. On July 17th, 1918 three hundred and four years of the Romanov dynasty ended when, probably under Lenin's orders, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and five children were brutally murdered by a Bolshevik execution squad bringing the Romanov dynasty to a final and bitter end. This brilliant and original new work, comprised of vivid and powerful portraits of the entire Romanov family, illustrates exactly what and how the family contributed to the creation of Russia. By bringing the characters of the Tsars and their family to life, Lindsey Hughes offers an insightful addition to our knowledge of an epic and fascinating history.
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This is new:Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy
Douglas SmithSynopsis
Epic in scope, precise in detail, and heart-breaking in its human drama, Former People is the first book to recount the history of the aristocracy caught up in the maelstrom of the Bolshevik Revolution and the creation of Stalin’s Russia. Filled with chilling tales of looted palaces and burning estates, of desperate flights in the night from marauding peasants and Red Army soldiers, of imprisonment, exile, and execution, it is the story of how a centuries�-old elite, famous for its glittering wealth, its service to the Tsar and Empire, and its promotion of the arts and culture, was dispossessed and destroyed along with the rest of old Russia.
Yet Former People is also a story of survival and accommodation, of how many of the tsarist ruling class—so-called “former people� and “class enemies”—overcame the psychological wounds inflicted by the loss of their world and decades of repression as they struggled to find a place for themselves and their families in the new, hostile order of the Soviet Union. Chronicling the fate of two great aristocratic families—the Sheremetevs and the Golitsyns—it reveals how even in the darkest depths of the terror, daily life went on.
Told with sensitivity and nuance by acclaimed historian Douglas Smith, Former People is the dramatic portrait of two of Russia’s most powerful aristocratic families, and a sweeping account of their homeland in violent transition.
Josh writes:I thought his book made a really good case for Krushchev actually having some intelligence.
Prior to reading much of what I knew about him where the cartoons that are mentioned by the author. Contains a great analysis of a lost art. Political Cartoons.
Nikita Khrushchev: A Cartoonist Depiction by Jordan Danks (not in Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ)
Synopsis
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War as Premier from 1958 till 1964. Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy. Despite many successes Khrushchev was unceremoniously removed from power. This book discusses Vaughn Shoemaker's, Pulitzer prize winning cartoonist, cartoon depictions of Khrushchev and the view the American people had of this ruler of the Soviet Union.
Bryan wrote: "Josh writes:I thought his book made a really good case for Krushchev actually having some intelligence.
Prior to reading much of what I knew about him where the cartoons that are mentioned by t..."
I have never thought he was in any way stupid. In fact I've thought of him as the second best leader of Soviet Union, after Gorbachev. Of course there isn't much of a competition but for example compared to Brezhnev and the Era of Stagnation there is a big difference, Khrushchev's Thaw they call it.
The American John Reed was an eyewitness to the days of the Revolution and his book has become a classic of reportage.Ten Days That Shook the World
by
John ReedSynopsis
The basis for the Academy Award winning 1981 film Reds, Reed's classic eyewitness account captures the opening days of the Russian Revolution. His passionately involved narrative describes the fall of the provisional government, the assault on the Winter Palace, Lenin's seizure of power, and other tumultuous events. "Brilliant and entertaining." � The New York Times Book Review. 16 illustrations.
Another book that gives us a view of the Soviet Union and Stalin's very ominous and powerful presence is
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Synopsis
The Harvest of Sorrow is the first full history of one of the most horrendous human tragedies of the 20th century. Between 1929 and 1932 the Soviet Communist Party struck a double blow at the Russian peasantry: dekulakization, the dispossession and deportation of millions of peasant families, and collectivization, the abolition of private ownership of land and the concentration of the remaining peasants in party-controlled "collective" farms. This was followed in 1932-33 by a "terror-famine," inflicted by the State on the collectivized peasants of the Ukraine and certain other areas by setting impossibly high grain quotas, removing every other source of food, and preventing help from outside--even from other areas of the Soviet Union--from reaching the starving populace. The death toll resulting from the actions described in this book was an estimated 14.5 million--more than the total number of deaths for all countries in World War I.
Ambitious, meticulously researched, and lucidly written, The Harvest of Sorrow is a deeply moving testament to those who died, and will register in the Western consciousness a sense of the dark side of this century's history.
Jeez, where' the love for A People's Tragedy? I've seen much Internet chatter attacking Figes work, but nothing more credible. Does someone have reputable sources?
by
Orlando Figes
Ya'll are killing me! I have ordered a whole stack of books after reading these remarks!
Martin, I know this book is mentioned in our Russian Revolution topic. I picked up Figes' work and I was impressed by it already. I will read it cover to cover.
by
Orlando Figes
I was really disappointed when I didn't get picked for that book give-away on Gorbachev. But here are two excellent books about Jews behind the Iron Curtain:
by Shlomo Z. Sonnenfeld
by Itskhak Zilber
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Nancy stated:
This book is â€beyondâ€� wonderful, it is amazing.
I could have finished it yesterday but wanted to savour it as long as possible.
I was enchanted by each and every word. Krielaars breaths life into Chekhov and through his “brilletje� ( pince-nez) reveals to the reader Russia with all its contrasts.
The author follows the footsteps of Chekhov during his youth, his early carriere as writer, his travels along the Volga and through Siberia to Vladistok. Along the way we are enriched with information about Russian politics, other great Russian writers.
I read this book in Dutch. I hope it will be translated into English very soon.
by Michel Krielaars (no photo)
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by Hedrick Smith (no photo)
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Don't forget to add (no photo) at the end of the citation when there is no author's photo available.
by Shlomo Z. Sonnenfeld (no photo)
by Itskhak Zilber (no photo)
This book explains how the politics of "old Russia" still affect the Russian government today. Practicing Stalinism
by J. Arch Getty(no photo)Synopsis
In old Russia, patron/client relations, "clan" politics, and a variety of other informal practices spanned the centuries. Government was understood to be patrimonial and personal rather than legal, and office holding was far less important than proximity to patrons. Working from heretofore unused documents from the Communist archives, J. Arch Getty shows how these political practices and traditions from old Russia have persisted throughout the twentieth-century Soviet Union and down to the present day. Getty examines a number of case studies of political practices in the Stalin era and after. These include cults of personality, the transformation of Old Bolsheviks into noble grandees, the Communist Party's personnel selection system, and the rise of political clans ("family circles") after the 1917 Revolutions. Stalin's conflicts with these clans, and his eventual destruction of them, were key elements of the Great Purges of the 1930s. But although Stalin could destroy the competing clans, he could not destroy the historically embedded patron-client relationship, as a final chapter on political practice under Putin shows.
Revolutionary Russia, 1891-1991: A History
by
Orlando FigesSynopsis:
In this elegant and incisive account, Orlando Figes offers an illuminating new perspective on the Russian Revolution. While other historians have focused their examinations on the cataclysmic years immediately before and after 1917, Figes shows how the revolution, while it changed in form and character, nevertheless retained the same idealistic goals throughout, from its origins in the famine crisis of 1891 until its end with the collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991.
Figes traces three generational phases: Lenin and the Bolsheviks, who set the pattern of destruction and renewal until their demise in the terror of the 1930s; the Stalinist generation, promoted from the lower classes, who created the lasting structures of the Soviet regime and consolidated its legitimacy through victory in war; and the generation of 1956, shaped by the revelations of Stalin’s crimes and committed to “making the Revolution work� to remedy economic decline and mass disaffection. Until the very end of the Soviet system, its leaders believed they were carrying out the revolution Lenin had begun.
With the authority and distinctive style that have marked his magisterial histories, Figes delivers an accessible and paradigm-shifting reconsideration of one of the defining events of the twentieth century.
I really enjoyed
by Edward Rutherfurd
. This might be considered light reading as opposed to a serious history read, but it provides a general history of Russia.
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Let me show you how I would have done the above:
I really enjoyed Russka: The Novel of Russia by Edward Rutherford. This might be considered light reading as opposed to a serious history read, but it provides a general history of Russia. I would also have to add that it is "historical fiction" - we always point that out if it is not a non fiction book. If it is a novel we also alert folks to that as well. One thing that I want to point out is the book cover is always first, then the author's photo, and then the author's link - you have the link before the author's photo. Hope this helps Hudson.
by
Edward Rutherfurd
The biography of a man who had tremendous influence on the Romanov dynasty and who was partly responsible for its demise. Was he a charlatan or did he have healing powers....or a little bit of both. Fascinating subject.Rasputin
by Harold Shukman(no photo)Synopsis:
Gregory Rasputin figures in Russian history as a malign and destructive force, a man with an unhealthy influence on the Empress Alexandra and undue power in Russian politics. Yet, his purposes were obstensibly beneficient. An uneducated peasant, he left Siberia to become a wandering holy man and soon acquired a reputation as a healer. The empress was desperate to find a cure for the haemophilia from which her son Alexei suffered, and in 1905 Rasputin was presented at court. His positive effect on the heir's health made him indispensable. But his religious teachings were unorthodox, and his charismatic presence aroused in many ladies of the St Petersburg aristocracy an exalted response, which he exploited sexually. Shady financial dealings added to the atmosphere of debauchery and scandal, and he was also seen as a political threat. He was assassinated in 1916.
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Release date: August 19, 2014
Siberia: A History of the People
by Janet M. Hartley (no photo)Synopsis:
Larger in area than the United States and Europe combined, Siberia is a land of extremes, not merely in terms of climate and expanse, but in the many kinds of lives its population has led over the course of four centuries. Janet M. Hartley explores the history of this vast Russian wasteland—whose very name is a common euphemism for remote bleakness and exile—through the lives of the people who settled there, either willingly, desperately, or as prisoners condemned to exile or forced labor in mines or the gulag.
From the Cossack adventurers� first incursions into “Sibir� in the late sixteenth century to the exiled criminals and political prisoners of the Soviet era to present-day impoverished Russians and entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in the oil-rich north, Hartley’s comprehensive history offers a vibrant, profoundly human account of Siberia’s development. One of the world’s most inhospitable regions is humanized through personal narratives and colorful case studies as ordinary—and extraordinary—everyday life in “the nothingness� is presented in rich and fascinating detail.
The Soviet Biological Weapons Program: A History
by Milton Leitenberg (no photo)Synopsis:
Russian officials claim today that the USSR never possessed an offensive biological weapons program. In fact, the Soviet government spent billions of rubles and hard currency to fund a hugely expensive weapons program that added nothing to the country’s security. This history is the first attempt to understand the broad scope of the USSR’s offensive biological weapons research—its inception in the 1920s, its growth between 1970 and 1990, and its possible remnants in present-day Russia. We learn that the U.S. and U.K. governments never obtained clear evidence of the program’s closure from 1990 to the present day, raising the critical question whether the means for waging biological warfare could be resurrected in Russia in the future.
Based on interviews with important Soviet scientists and managers, papers from the Soviet Central Committee, and U.S. and U.K. declassified documents, this book peels back layers of lies, to reveal how and why Soviet leaders decided to develop biological weapons, the scientific resources they dedicated to this task, and the multitude of research institutes that applied themselves to its fulfillment. We learn that Biopreparat, an ostensibly civilian organization, was established to manage a top secret program, code-named Ferment, whose objective was to apply genetic engineering to develop strains of pathogenic agents that had never existed in nature. Leitenberg and Zilinskas consider the performance of the U.S. intelligence community in discovering and assessing these activities, and they examine in detail the crucial years 1985 to 1992, when Mikhail Gorbachev’s attempts to put an end to the program were thwarted as they were under Yeltsin.
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by
Benson BobrickSynopsis:
In sweep, color & grandeur, the conquest & settlement of Siberia compares with the winning of the American West. It's the greatest pioneering story in history, uniquely combining the heroic colonization of an intractable virgin land, the ghastly dangers & high adventure of Arctic exploration, & the grimmest saga of penal servitude. 400 years of continual human striving chart its course, a drama of unremitting extremes & elemental confrontations, pitting man against nature, & man against man. East of the Sun, a work of panoramic scope, is the 1st complete account of this strange & terrible story. To most Westerners, Siberia is a vast & mysterious place. The richest resource area on the face of the earth, its land mass covers 5 million square miles-7.5% of the total land surface of the globe.
From the 1st foray in 1581 across the Ural Mountains by a band of Cossack outlaws to the fall of Gorbachev, East of the Sun is history on a grand scale. With vivid immediacy, Bobrick describes the often brutal subjugation of Siberia's aboriginal tribes & the cultures that were destroyed; the great 18th-century explorations that defined Siberia's borders & Russia's attempt to "extend" Siberia further with settlements in Alaska, California & Hawaii; & the transformation of Siberia into a penal colony for criminal & political exiles, an experiment more terrible than Australia's Botany Bay. There's the building of the stupendous Trans-Siberian Railway across 7 time zones; Siberia's key role in the bloody aftermath of the October Revolution in 1917; & Stalin's dreaded Gulag, which corrupted its very soil. Today, Siberia is the hope of Russia's future, now that all her appended republic have broken away. Its story has never been more timely.
Fascinating book by a distinguished historian.White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War 1919-1920 and The Miracle on the Vistula
by
Norman DaviesSynopsis:
In White Eagle, Red Star, distinguished historian Norman Davies gives us a full account of the Polish-Soviet War, with its dramatic climax in August 1920 when the Red Army—sure of victory and pledged to carry the Revolution across Europe —was crushed by a devastating Polish attack. Since known as “The Miracle of the Vistula,� it remains one of the most crucial conflicts of the Western world. Drawing on both Polish and Russian sources, Norman Davies shows how this war was a pivotal event in the course of European history.
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The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century 
by Angela E. Stent (no photo)Synopsis:
The Limits of Partnership offers a riveting narrative on U.S.-Russian relations since the Soviet collapse and on the challenges ahead. It reflects the unique perspective of an insider who is also recognized as a leading expert on this troubled relationship. American presidents have repeatedly attempted to forge a strong and productive partnership only to be held hostage to the deep mistrust born of the Cold War. For the United States, Russia remains a priority because of its nuclear weapons arsenal, its strategic location bordering Europe and Asia, and its ability to support--or thwart--American interests. Why has it been so difficult to move the relationship forward? What are the prospects for doing so in the future? Is the effort doomed to fail again and again?
Angela Stent served as an adviser on Russia under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and maintains close ties with key policymakers in both countries. Here, she argues that the same contentious issues--terrorism, missile defense, Iran, nuclear proliferation, Afghanistan, the former Soviet space, the greater Middle East--have been in every president's inbox, Democrat and Republican alike, since the collapse of the USSR. Stent vividly describes how Clinton and Bush sought inroads with Russia and staked much on their personal ties to Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin--only to leave office with relations at a low point--and how Barack Obama managed to restore ties only to see them undermined by a Putin regime resentful of American dominance and determined to restore Russia's great power status.
The Limits of Partnership calls for a fundamental reassessment of the principles and practices that drive U.S.-Russian relations, and offers a path forward to meet the urgent challenges facing both countries.
The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union 
by
Serhii PlokhySynopsis:
On Christmas Day, 1991, President George H. W. Bush addressed the nation to declare an American victory in the Cold War: earlier that day Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned as the first and last Soviet president. The enshrining of that narrative, one in which the end of the Cold War was linked to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the triumph of democratic values over communism, took center stage in American public discourse immediately after Bush’s speech and has persisted for decades—with disastrous consequences for American standing in the world.
As prize-winning historian Serhii Plokhy reveals in The Last Empire, the collapse of the Soviet Union was anything but the handiwork of the United States. On the contrary, American leaders dreaded the possibility that the Soviet Union—weakened by infighting and economic turmoil—might suddenly crumble, throwing all of Eurasia into chaos. Bush was firmly committed to supporting his ally and personal friend Gorbachev, and remained wary of nationalist or radical leaders such as recently elected Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Fearing what might happen to the large Soviet nuclear arsenal in the event of the union’s collapse, Bush stood by Gorbachev as he resisted the growing independence movements in Ukraine, Moldova, and the Caucasus. Plokhy’s detailed, authoritative account shows that it was only after the movement for independence of the republics had gained undeniable momentum on the eve of the Ukrainian vote for independence that fall that Bush finally abandoned Gorbachev to his fate.
Drawing on recently declassified documents and original interviews with key participants, Plokhy presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Union’s final months and argues that the key to the Soviet collapse was the inability of the two largest Soviet republics, Russia and Ukraine, to agree on the continuing existence of a unified state. By attributing the Soviet collapse to the impact of American actions, US policy makers overrated their own capacities in toppling and rebuilding foreign regimes. Not only was the key American role in the demise of the Soviet Union a myth, but this misplaced belief has guided—and haunted—American foreign policy ever since.
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Among the Russians (other topics)The Hermitage Museum Leningrad (other topics)
St. Petersburg: Architecture of the Tsars (other topics)
Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia (other topics)
Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Pierre Descargues (other topics)Colin Thubron (other topics)
Orlando Figes (other topics)
David Greene (other topics)
Leo Tolstoy (other topics)
More...
We do want to discover more about this country and its vibrant history so we are setting up a folder to discuss the history of this phenomenal part of the world in depth.
We can discuss any of the places, provinces, cities, people who developed this country in some way or influenced or ruled Russia; and/or who helped its people, any leaders or czars, crops, the indigenous populations, revolutions, and/or events good and bad which took place in this country.
There is a plethora of history out there. Please feel free to discuss here some of the threads that I can set up to get this folder developed.
Note: Russia has been called many things: Russia, the Soviet Union, USSR, Russian Federation, etc. This folder is about all of these.