Russia and the Soviet Union

This balanced and succinct presentation covers the entire expanse of Russian history: from the first Kievan states (800 a.d.) to the present day Putin era. This definitive account of Russian and Soviet history presents major trends and events from ancient Kievan Rus' to Vladimir Putin's presidency of the twenty-first century. Now thoroughly revised and updated, "Russia and the Soviet Union" addresses controversial topics, including the impact of the Mongol conquest, the paradoxes of Peter the Great, the 'inevitability' of the 1917 Revolution, the Stalinist terror, and the Gorbachev reform effort.The sixth edition includes a new chapter on Vladimir Putin, additional treatment of social and foreign policy issues, and an updated chapter on post-Soviet Russia and the Yeltsin era. Distinguished by its brevity and amply supplemented with useful maps, illustrations, photos, and suggested readings, this essential text provides balanced coverage of all periods of Russian history and incorporates economic, social, and cultural developments as well as politics and foreign policy.Thompson is long praised by reviewers for giving proportionate coverage to all periods of Russian history: early Kiev, the imperial era, and the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, and is a core text for many Russian history courses.