--- product_id: 555593672 title: "The Story of Russia" price: "AR$94412" currency: ARS in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/555593672-the-story-of-russia store_origin: AR region: Argentina --- # The Story of Russia **Price:** AR$94412 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Story of Russia - **How much does it cost?** AR$94412 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.ar](https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/555593672-the-story-of-russia) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews “This is the essential backstory, the history book that you need if you want to understand modern Russia and its wars with Ukraine, with its neighbors, with America, and with the West.” ―Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy and Red Famine From “the great storyteller of Russian history” ( Financial Times ), a brilliant account of the national mythologies and imperial ideologies that have shaped Russia’s past and politics―essential reading for understanding the country today The Story of Russia is a fresh approach to the thousand years of Russia’s history, concerned as much with the ideas that have shaped how Russians think about their past as it is with the events and personalities comprising it. No other country has reimagined its own story so often, in a perpetual effort to stay in step with the shifts of ruling ideologies. From the founding of Kievan Rus in the first millennium to Putin’s war against Ukraine, Orlando Figes explores the ideas that have guided Russia’s actions throughout its long and troubled existence. Whether he's describing the crowning of Ivan the Terrible in a candlelit cathedral or the dramatic upheaval of the peasant revolution, he reveals the impulses, often unappreciated or misunderstood by foreigners, that have driven Russian history: the medieval myth of Mother Russia’s holy mission to the world; the imperial tendency toward autocratic rule; the popular belief in a paternal tsar dispensing truth and justice; the cult of sacrifice rooted in the idea of the “Russian soul”; and always, the nationalist myth of Russia’s unjust treatment by the West. How the Russians came to tell their story and to revise it so often as they went along is not only a vital aspect of their history; it is also our best means of understanding how the country thinks and acts today. Based on a lifetime of scholarship and enthrallingly written, The Story of Russia is quintessential Figes: sweeping, revelatory, and masterful. Review: So Much I Didn't Know - “The Story of Russia” by Orlando Figes has a wealth of information about Russian history and recognizes that it is more complex than most realize; for example, the book contains a lot of maps, and you will need them to describe the provinces at different points throughout history. But, as is the case with historical summaries like this, the author can either err on the side of being too accessible for history buffs or too detailed for the casual reader: Figes chooses the latter, and you will learn something. I am reasonably well-informed, but the 1500s are not my strong suit. Nevertheless, hearing about a period in which leaders and the clergy worked in unison, and tsars quoted the bible to rationalize their crimes was sobering. The sheer volume of religious conflicts and wars was shocking. In the 1600s, when the West began to acknowledge that Russia had power, many deaths occurred, leaving citizens to know nothing but that life. Russia had the unique position of affecting European and Asian life. As they attempted to expand materialistically, they embraced foreigners but banished Jews in the late 1700s, possibly changing the sentiments of Europe. When culture and religious wars heat up in the 1850s, Figes achieves the tricky balance of respecting the Russian viewpoint while still painting a picture of revolution and violence. If I were to judge public sentimentality by my social media feed, people are fascinated by the philosophy of Marxism but hate Communism. But, of course, you can do both and remain fascinated by the events that led to Lenin’s ascent to power. I had no idea that so many different groups opposed each other in the time of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Their methods of propaganda do not differ much from today’s. My biggest weakness when posting these on social media is obsessing over what my conservative and liberal friends will think. Fear not. Figes views Communism as a fast-rising phenomenon and goes into great detail as to how it failed. I am amazed by how much I did not know about Lenin and Stalin. If anything, it created empathy in me for the Russian people, as so many lived under poor leadership without any knowledge or capacity to fix it. Review: Very good, but with some serious caveats. - Over-all, this book was very good, but with some serious caveats. I've read a fair amount of Russian history over the years, but still managed to learn some new things in this relatively short book. The author is very knowledgeable, and has written a few other books on Russian history besides this one. What I did NOT like about the book: 1. The author is firmly planted in the western non-Slavic tradition of liberal democracy, with its childish bedrock assumption that all autocracy is inherently evil. This bias creates a perpetual frown of contempt and disapproval that seems to overshadow everyone and everything in the history he recounts in the book. By the time we reach the present, with Putin, the author's mask comes off, history-telling goes out the window, and the book becomes a political tirade. 2. The author strives to expose and debunk lies and myths that the Russian autocracy has used to support itself and subjugate others over the centuries. Great. But he too often throws the baby out with the bathwater; truth along with lies. ..all the while, no mention is ever made that the West obviously has its own lies and myths that need debunking and dismissing. All that said, if you're willing to do the hard work of constant mental filtering, this book was very informative and thought provoking, which is exactly what I'm looking for in a history book. Final result: recommended. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #159,296 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #28 in Russian & Soviet Politics #140 in European Politics Books #149 in Russian History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 796 Reviews | ## Images ![The Story of Russia - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71S0fSjcSvL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ So Much I Didn't Know *by A***Y on May 13, 2023* “The Story of Russia” by Orlando Figes has a wealth of information about Russian history and recognizes that it is more complex than most realize; for example, the book contains a lot of maps, and you will need them to describe the provinces at different points throughout history. But, as is the case with historical summaries like this, the author can either err on the side of being too accessible for history buffs or too detailed for the casual reader: Figes chooses the latter, and you will learn something. I am reasonably well-informed, but the 1500s are not my strong suit. Nevertheless, hearing about a period in which leaders and the clergy worked in unison, and tsars quoted the bible to rationalize their crimes was sobering. The sheer volume of religious conflicts and wars was shocking. In the 1600s, when the West began to acknowledge that Russia had power, many deaths occurred, leaving citizens to know nothing but that life. Russia had the unique position of affecting European and Asian life. As they attempted to expand materialistically, they embraced foreigners but banished Jews in the late 1700s, possibly changing the sentiments of Europe. When culture and religious wars heat up in the 1850s, Figes achieves the tricky balance of respecting the Russian viewpoint while still painting a picture of revolution and violence. If I were to judge public sentimentality by my social media feed, people are fascinated by the philosophy of Marxism but hate Communism. But, of course, you can do both and remain fascinated by the events that led to Lenin’s ascent to power. I had no idea that so many different groups opposed each other in the time of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Their methods of propaganda do not differ much from today’s. My biggest weakness when posting these on social media is obsessing over what my conservative and liberal friends will think. Fear not. Figes views Communism as a fast-rising phenomenon and goes into great detail as to how it failed. I am amazed by how much I did not know about Lenin and Stalin. If anything, it created empathy in me for the Russian people, as so many lived under poor leadership without any knowledge or capacity to fix it. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very good, but with some serious caveats. *by J***S on May 25, 2025* Over-all, this book was very good, but with some serious caveats. I've read a fair amount of Russian history over the years, but still managed to learn some new things in this relatively short book. The author is very knowledgeable, and has written a few other books on Russian history besides this one. What I did NOT like about the book: 1. The author is firmly planted in the western non-Slavic tradition of liberal democracy, with its childish bedrock assumption that all autocracy is inherently evil. This bias creates a perpetual frown of contempt and disapproval that seems to overshadow everyone and everything in the history he recounts in the book. By the time we reach the present, with Putin, the author's mask comes off, history-telling goes out the window, and the book becomes a political tirade. 2. The author strives to expose and debunk lies and myths that the Russian autocracy has used to support itself and subjugate others over the centuries. Great. But he too often throws the baby out with the bathwater; truth along with lies. ..all the while, no mention is ever made that the West obviously has its own lies and myths that need debunking and dismissing. All that said, if you're willing to do the hard work of constant mental filtering, this book was very informative and thought provoking, which is exactly what I'm looking for in a history book. Final result: recommended. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Essential To An Understanding of What Motivates Russia Today, and in the Past *by G***N on December 17, 2022* It is, in my view, impossible to provide a solid moral justification for Putin’s “special military operation” against Ukraine, but, with the help of Orlando Figes’ wonderfully told story of Russia, it’s at least possible to get a glimpse into Putin’s reasoning. Indeed, one problem that hampers ordinary observers like myself in understanding Russia is that much of the analysis provided on this side of the Atlantic suffers, according to Professor Figes, from “ahistoricism.” That is, “Contemporary Russian politics are too often [analyzed] without sufficient knowledge of Russian history.” Take, for example, the myth surrounding the Russian Kulikovo victory. Kulikovo, located near the river Don, is where Russia is perceived to have liberated itself from the Tartar infidels. More important, Putin, to this day, along with Russians generally, sees this as the first in a series of instances in which Russia made sacrifices ultimately “unrecognized” by its Western allies. The sacrifices Russia made to halt Napoleon (1812 – 1815) and then Hitler (1941 – 1945) are similarly ignored or not sufficiently appreciated in the West. Figes maintains that Russia’s “deep resentment of the West is rooted in this national myth.” To know where Russia is heading, Figes insists that “history and myth…should be reconsidered.” Given that, exactly where is Russia heading? What we learn from Figes’ story is that, in the 20th century, autocracy has emerged, like Phoenix from the ashes, each time Russia has approached democracy. Hence, the rise of Stalin, and then Putin – both heralded in Russia today as heroes for being strong leaders, and for attempting to restore the greatness that was the Russian empire. Figes’ final chapter, not surprisingly, is not entitled “The End,” or even “Conclusion.” Figes, instead, opts for “Ends,” and then presents a series of scenarios, any of which might characterize Russia’s future. This book merits a wide and intense reading. It is precisely the book we need to understand, though not justify, Russia’s current crusade against Ukraine. Read this book at the earliest. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/555593672-the-story-of-russia](https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/555593672-the-story-of-russia) --- *Product available on Desertcart Argentina* *Store origin: AR* *Last updated: 2026-09-14*