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A History of Russia
A History of Russia
A History of Russia Bernard Pares From the Russia of pre-history down through the famous and infamous tsars, through two world wars, Stalin, and the dawn of modern times, this single-volume history tours us in style through a vast, populous, and truly remarkable country.
679 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1929
About the author
Bernard Pares
61 books3 followersBernard Pares was born in in England in 1867. Educated at Harrow and Cambridge University where he developed a strong interest in Russian history and in 1898 he made his first visit to the country.
In 1902 Pares found employment as an adult education lecturer at the recently established Liverpool University. Five years later he founded the first School of Russian Studies at a British university. During this period Pares was a regular visitor to Russia and met leading figures in the Duma and the Russian government.
Pares thought that the authorities mishandled the protests led by Father Georgi Gapon. "Gapon's organization was based on a representation of one person for every thousand workers. He planned a peaceful demonstration in the form of a march to the Winter Palace, carrying church banners and singing religious and national songs. Owing to the idiocy of the military authorities, the crowd was met with rifle fire both at the outskirts of the city and the palace square. The actual victims, as certified by a public commission of lawyers of the Opposition, was approximately 150 killed and 200 wounded; and as all who had taken a leading part in the procession were then expelled from the capital, the news was circulated all over the Empire."
He became close to Alexander Guchkov: "He had the easy organizing ability of a first-rate English politician; he was quietly proud of his democratic origin, and all his actions were inspired by an ardent love for Russia and the Russian people, in whose native conservatism, common sense and loyalty he fully shared... Guchkov's chief quality was a daring gallantry; he was at ease with himself and enjoyed stepping forward under fire with a perfect calm whenever there was anything which he wished to challenge; his defect was his restlessness; without actually asking for it, he was instinctively always in the limelight, always trying to do too much."
Pares was highly critical of Tsar Nicholas II in his treatment of Jews: "At this time the favourite object of persecution was the Jewry of Russia, which was in 1914 nearly one half of the whole Jewish population of the world. And here Nicholas was as bad as Alexander. It was not just a question of what rights the Jews did not possess, but whether they had the right to exist at all. But for special exemptions, the Jewish population was confined to the so-called Jewish Pale of Settlement, where they lived under Polish rule before the partitions of Poland."
On the outbreak of the First World War Pares was appointed British Military Observer to the Russian Army. He thought the Tsar made a serious mistake by appointing Boris Sturmer as prime minister: "Sturmer was a shallow and dishonest creature, without even the merit of courage. Sturmer was prepared to pose as a semi-liberal and to try in this way to keep the Duma quiet. Rasputin backed Sturmer, and also the Empress, and he was suddenly appointed Prime Minister on February 2nd and to the surprise of everyone, and most of all Goremykin, who, as was usual with the Emperor, had never been given the idea that he was even in danger."
Pares remained on the Eastern Front for the next three years but left the country after the October Revolution. Pares was sent back to Russia in January 1919 as an officer in the British Army. He gave lectures in Siberia then held by Alexander Kolchak. After the defeat of the White Army Pares returned to Britain where he was appointed of Russian history at London University.
In 1922 Pares founded and edited The Slavonic Review and wrote several books including Day by Day with the Russian Army (1915), A History of Russia (1926), Fall of the Russian Monarchy (1939) and Russia and the Peace (1944).
Bernard Pares died on 17th April 1949.
In 1902 Pares found employment as an adult education lecturer at the recently established Liverpool University. Five years later he founded the first School of Russian Studies at a British university. During this period Pares was a regular visitor to Russia and met leading figures in the Duma and the Russian government.
Pares thought that the authorities mishandled the protests led by Father Georgi Gapon. "Gapon's organization was based on a representation of one person for every thousand workers. He planned a peaceful demonstration in the form of a march to the Winter Palace, carrying church banners and singing religious and national songs. Owing to the idiocy of the military authorities, the crowd was met with rifle fire both at the outskirts of the city and the palace square. The actual victims, as certified by a public commission of lawyers of the Opposition, was approximately 150 killed and 200 wounded; and as all who had taken a leading part in the procession were then expelled from the capital, the news was circulated all over the Empire."
He became close to Alexander Guchkov: "He had the easy organizing ability of a first-rate English politician; he was quietly proud of his democratic origin, and all his actions were inspired by an ardent love for Russia and the Russian people, in whose native conservatism, common sense and loyalty he fully shared... Guchkov's chief quality was a daring gallantry; he was at ease with himself and enjoyed stepping forward under fire with a perfect calm whenever there was anything which he wished to challenge; his defect was his restlessness; without actually asking for it, he was instinctively always in the limelight, always trying to do too much."
Pares was highly critical of Tsar Nicholas II in his treatment of Jews: "At this time the favourite object of persecution was the Jewry of Russia, which was in 1914 nearly one half of the whole Jewish population of the world. And here Nicholas was as bad as Alexander. It was not just a question of what rights the Jews did not possess, but whether they had the right to exist at all. But for special exemptions, the Jewish population was confined to the so-called Jewish Pale of Settlement, where they lived under Polish rule before the partitions of Poland."
On the outbreak of the First World War Pares was appointed British Military Observer to the Russian Army. He thought the Tsar made a serious mistake by appointing Boris Sturmer as prime minister: "Sturmer was a shallow and dishonest creature, without even the merit of courage. Sturmer was prepared to pose as a semi-liberal and to try in this way to keep the Duma quiet. Rasputin backed Sturmer, and also the Empress, and he was suddenly appointed Prime Minister on February 2nd and to the surprise of everyone, and most of all Goremykin, who, as was usual with the Emperor, had never been given the idea that he was even in danger."
Pares remained on the Eastern Front for the next three years but left the country after the October Revolution. Pares was sent back to Russia in January 1919 as an officer in the British Army. He gave lectures in Siberia then held by Alexander Kolchak. After the defeat of the White Army Pares returned to Britain where he was appointed of Russian history at London University.
In 1922 Pares founded and edited The Slavonic Review and wrote several books including Day by Day with the Russian Army (1915), A History of Russia (1926), Fall of the Russian Monarchy (1939) and Russia and the Peace (1944).
Bernard Pares died on 17th April 1949.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 14, 2018
This is the best one volume history of Russia I ever read, even though it is a little dated. It is written by a renown Russian emigre who taught at Yale. Here Russian history is presented in Russian terms, and not as a failed Western democracy in similar titles by British or American authors. The author examines the complex process of formation - of a people, of a nation and of a civilizational order quite distinct from the West. We see how the Russian character is slowly forged by centuries of interactions with peoples from the Steppes, and how the institution of serfdom slowly ossified as a measure by the nobles to countervail Tsarist power, rather than an evil invention by an autocrat pontificating at the top.
The parts on the Soviet Union are somewhat inadequate, as the author already left Russia by the time, but this does not affect the integrity of the whole work.
The parts on the Soviet Union are somewhat inadequate, as the author already left Russia by the time, but this does not affect the integrity of the whole work.
March 25, 2008
This general history of Russia, used as a text in college, is a competent introduction to the field. The author, covering years through 1966 in this edition, is prejudiced against the Soviet period.
Upon entering Grinnell College I enrolled in a two-semester Russian history course, focusing my research on reform movements prior to the Bolshevik revolution. The teacher, Greg Guroff, was the most demanding of my college career in terms of how much he required us to write. Twenty pages a week was normal.
In reaction to this, one of the upperclassmen produced an almost one hundred page paper for his weekly assignment (others helped with the typing). Guroff took it with a quickly suppressed raising of an eyebrow, ultimately giving the thing an A-. Doubtless, he was aware of the implied critique, but I don't recall it making any difference in our workload.
This is not the text we used, but it was recommended in the syllabus. The prospect of more classes with Guroff if I continued on in Russian history prompted me in other directions, but the interest in Russia continued. Upon graduation, when I finally had time for such things again, I got around to reading some of the works he had recommended.
Guroff himself went on to the U.S. State Department...
Upon entering Grinnell College I enrolled in a two-semester Russian history course, focusing my research on reform movements prior to the Bolshevik revolution. The teacher, Greg Guroff, was the most demanding of my college career in terms of how much he required us to write. Twenty pages a week was normal.
In reaction to this, one of the upperclassmen produced an almost one hundred page paper for his weekly assignment (others helped with the typing). Guroff took it with a quickly suppressed raising of an eyebrow, ultimately giving the thing an A-. Doubtless, he was aware of the implied critique, but I don't recall it making any difference in our workload.
This is not the text we used, but it was recommended in the syllabus. The prospect of more classes with Guroff if I continued on in Russian history prompted me in other directions, but the interest in Russia continued. Upon graduation, when I finally had time for such things again, I got around to reading some of the works he had recommended.
Guroff himself went on to the U.S. State Department...
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June 3, 2020It's rare to come across a history book with so many problems. The history of Russia through the Mongols is inadequately covered. The history under the early Czars is focused in a weird way exclusively on the peasantry. The later Czarist history has the same, but adds in a huge amount of detail on names and places, with little analysis; reminded me of 'history' in school, rather than real History. The Communist section, if written today, would be called a white-wash of the criminals, but since the book was written in 1947, perhaps the author just had failure to believe that any country could lie so systematically---though you might think Germany would have tipped him off. Don't read this.
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August 18, 2022A good, comprehensive survey history that would have benefitted greatly from many more and better illustrative maps, placed at key points in the narrative. The dizzying blizzard of kahanates and obsolete place names created mighty confusion for this reader, despite his continuous recourse to the almighty Wikipedia and Google search tools.
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November 20, 2025I'm going to commit the unpardonable--comment on a book without having read more than one page. However, the page I turned to claimed that the kulaks were "lazy" and that Stalin was perfectly justified in starving them via his merciless collectivization program. Sorry, the kulaks were hard workers and Stalin was a murderous tyrant. I picked this up immediately after reading Victor Kravchenko's I Choose Freedom which provides a close-up on the horrors of collectivization, so I wasn't in the mood for whitewash.
(The edition I read was copyrighted 1953.)
(The edition I read was copyrighted 1953.)
January 2, 2023
This was a very interesting history, covering from ancient Russia all the way to the Soviet Union. Saying that, the entire second half of the book covers only the 19th and 20th centuries, so I would have liked more time spent on earlier Russia. But for those interested in Russia who don't mind a bit of dry writing, I would recommend this book!
May 23, 2025
An excellent history of the Russian people, in as far as that is possible, which helps very much in understanding the country itself. Although he is too lenient to the soviets, it is to be expected since at the time of writing the extend of their atrocities had not been documented. Overall, a splendid book that I would recommend for anyone interested in Russian history.
September 23, 2016
Първите глави доста ме объркаха, тъй като (по дяволите!) учим твърде слабо руска история, какво остава за средновековния период. Последните глави (тези за Съветския съюз) пък понаредиха малко кашата в представите ми. И все пак ми е чудно откъде точно взема статистическите си данни за последния период.
The first few chapters confused me a bit because (for God's sake) we've studied too little russian history, what remains about the Middle ages. The last few chapters (the ones about the Soviet Union) on other side brought order in my views. But anyway I'm wondering where he took the statistical data about the later.
The first few chapters confused me a bit because (for God's sake) we've studied too little russian history, what remains about the Middle ages. The last few chapters (the ones about the Soviet Union) on other side brought order in my views. But anyway I'm wondering where he took the statistical data about the later.
October 18, 2011
Nice, clear readable history and it or something like it should be on everyone's reading list. I admit I was pretty slow in seeing that "John the Dread" was the same person as "Ivan the Terrible"
December 10, 2012
Before you travel in a country; know more about it. This is a good one for Russia in one volume
January 31, 2014
What struck me was how far out were Pares' predictions - not that that would impair his history which would be based on evidence and his interpretation of it, valid enough.
August 8, 2014
This volume is very informative of Russia's History. It is a worthwhile read if you are interested in Russia or you are a history buff. I may need to reread it to give a more detailed review.
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April 24, 2015it's good idea
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews