Description
An erudite and entertaining history of Moscow, a city whose rich past offers crucial insight into contemporary global politics'A marvellous book' HELEN RAPPAPORT, author of The Rebel Romanov`Every page pulses with individual stories and historical insights' MARK GALEOTTI, author of A Short History of Russia`Morrison is the perfect biographer of Moscow' SHAUN WALKER, author of The IllegalsMoscow stands at the centre of a nation comprising eleven percent of the globe's landmass, eleven time zones and nearly one hundred and fifty million people, some thirteen million of whom live in the capital. A Kingdom and a Village vividly brings to life Russia's heart and soul, tracing its transformation from a `big village' into a metropolis of vast geopolitical import. It is a stranger-than-fiction arc. The last century alone has featured invasions and battles, the destruction and reconstruction of sacred landmarks, and the collapse of the Soviet republic - not to mention the rise of an authoritarian leader who is a keen student of Russian history. Morrison reaches back to the city's founding as a fortress on a river nearly a millennium ago. In the following centuries, any number of external forces - from Tatar Mongols and Swedes to Napoleon and Hitler - set their sights on Moscow, bolstering its self-conception as a glittering prize and site of perpetual defence and resurrection. Understanding Moscow not only unlocks the spellbinding mysteries of Russia's past, but also the grim logic of its present. A Kingdom and a Village is an essential guide to a people and a nation. `Magisterial . gripping' BEN RHODES, author of The World As It Is`A mesmerising tale of how Moscow came to be' JILL DOUGHERTY, author of My Russia`Combines taut storytelling with penetrating analysis' REBECCA REICH, University of Cambridge
Binding: Hardback
Binding: Hardback