A History of Russia, Volume 2: Since 1855

by Walter G. Moss

In this fully updated second edition of 'A History of Russia' Vol. II, Walter G. Moss has significantly revised his text and bibliography to reflect new research findings and controversies on numerous subjects. He has also brought the history up-to-date by revising the post-Soviet material, which now covers events from the end of 1991 up to the present day. This new edition retains the features of the successful first edition that have made it a popular choice in universities and colleges throughout the US, Canada and around the world. Moss's accessible history includes full treatments of politics, economics, foreign affairs and wars, and also of everyday life, women, legal developments, religion, literature, art and popular culture. In addition, it provides many other features that have proven successful with both academics and students, including a well-organized and clearly written text, references to varying historical viewpoints, numerous illustrations and maps that supplement and amplify the text, fully updated bibliographies accompanying each chapter as well as a general bibliography of more comprehensive works, a glossary and a chronology of important events. Moss's 'A History of Russia' will appeal to academics, students and general readers alike.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Russian History

667 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was technically supposed to read this in college, but given it was one of nine other books assigned for the class, I admit I had to skim the material to keep up with the breakneck pacing. I’ve finally been able to return and give the book the attention it deserves.

It’s an excellent foundation upon which to build. It has hundreds of suggested sources, and I’ve liberally added to my to-read list from those suggested sources and the bibliography. It is clear that Moss is an expert on the topic from the way he is able to synthesize an immense amount of source material into manageable eras over a century of Russian history. The format of the book covers a variety of topics of each era, including political developments, economic developments, religious, pop culture, literature, art and architecture, and other major themes. This formula repeats for each subsequent era that Moss covers. Additionally, Moss offers the invaluable benefit of offering a historiographical analysis of the sources he synthesizes based on how information on the USSR changed over time, as well as perceptions of the Soviet State changed.

A masterpiece of a textbook, and a treasure trove of source material for building a Russian history and culture library.