Description
Book SynopsisA thematic discussion of Russian history during the reign of Peter The Great. It covers Russia's foreign policy, the army and navy, economy, society, the arts and religion, and explores the experience of women, and the life of the court. Although this is not a biography of Peter the Great it recounts the events which shaped his early life.
Trade Review"Thanks to Hughes' beautifully written...book, for the first time the English-speaking reader is provided with a sufficiently full and just account of the events and institutions of Peter's reign to allow...judgements to be attempted...Her work will without doubt long remain the standard text." Nikolai Tolstoy, Literary Review "A balanced and absorbing account of Peter and his times." Robin Buss, Independent on Sunday "The most comprehensive study of Petrine Russia available in English." Richard Pipes, The New Republic "Hughes has produced such a comprehensive, scholarly and fluently written study of this horrific, complex man and his fascinating times that no one will need to revisit the subject for decades to come." Andrew Roberts, Mail on Sunday "A superbly comprehensive survey of the Petrine era...Hughes writes in a crisp, factual, scholarly manner...She has a fine eye for significant detail, as well as the grand themes...The contemporary relevance of this splendid piece of history needs no underlining." George Walden, The Daily Telegraph "The scope and source materials of this survey put it into a class by itself...The value of this book is its tremendous wealth of information and its fascinating presentation of existing scholarship. Its clear prose makes it accessible to those without prior knowledge of Russian history." Choice
