История России. Киевская Русь

A History of Russia #2

by George Vernadsky, Георгий Вернадский

Эта книга о том, как образовалось, крепло, развивалось и погибло первое русское государство. Возникшее в IX веке под властью Рюриковичей, воспринявшее через Византию христианскую культуру, обретшее военную силу, в период расцвета оно занимало обширную территорию между Черным и Балтийским морями. Но амбиции удельных князей раздробили его на части, а затем монгольское нашествие подвело черту под его историей. Лишь спустя столетия русские вновь смогли объединиться в единое целое, но уже вокруг другого центра — не Киева, а Москвы. В своем фундаментальном труде — по сути, энциклопедии киевского периода русской государственности — Георгий Вернадский последовательно описывает этапы становления Киевской Руси, говорит об источниках формирования русской цивилизации, подробно рассказывает о быте, культуре, экономике, религии, социальной организации древнерусского общества.

Genres: History, Russia, Nonfiction, Medieval, Russian History

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

George Vernadsky was a Russian Empire-born American historian and an author of numerous books on Russian history.

Reviews

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russia was so much more of a tangled web before it was Russia than I knew. It made me want to read more about nationalism. How did countries become countries and perhaps more importantly, why?
A very interesting look at the complexities of medieval Russia

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very good introduction to the history the Kievan Rus'—and indeed, the standard history thereof since its first publication way back in the 1940s. A bit dry in places, but it contains a real wealth of information presented in a narrative that for whatever it lacks at times in compelling intrigue does provide the core details of a dazzling array of plots, bitter fights for power, and other drama of princes and their factions who are fighting for the control of a growing domain. This book also however presents a decent amount of information on daily life: agriculture, religion and the like. It would be possible to read about three books in Russian and get the same information but also a bit more and with greater diversity of viewpoint as the Vernadsky book is a single-author volume, but for an English-language introduction to the Kievan Rus', this can't be beat, really.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb history of medieval Russia.