Russia and the Russians : A History

by Geoffrey Hosking

Release Date: May, 2003

Edition: Paperback

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Not the best Russian history book available

I may not have taken a course(s) on Russian history recently, but I believe I can tell a good book on Russian history when I read one. And this ain't one of them. Hosking's lack of organization, lack of scholarship in some chapters, and extremely tedious narrative style make this book uncomfortable to read. Some reviewers have suggested that since the history of Russia lacked direction during its course, this trait will inevitably be reflected in any attempt to analyze and chronicle the history of that country. The conclusion of this misguided speculation is that Russian history is difficult to narrate and we should therefore be happy reading what Mr. Hosking has produced for us. Although I agree that the history of Russia is indeed rich and complicated, nevertheless, one only has to look at all of the brilliant works that have been written on the subject in the past to see how well other historians have rendered this complex story in a clear and understandable manner. Examples include "Natasha's Dance" by Figes, "Russia under Western Eyes" by Mahlia, "Lenin's Tomb" by Remnick, and "A History of Russia" by Riasanovsky. I have yet to read a positive review on Hosking's "Russia and the Russians" that did not get mixed up by romanticizing the grandeur and the spectacle of Russian history, instead of focusing on the merits of the book. It makes me wonder whether those positive reviewers actually read the book.

I am no expert on Russian history or culture, although I do consider myself an admirer. Since there are so many outstanding books available on the market that deal with the subject of this unique and mysterious country, I regret spending the time that I did on this three-star wonder. If you are looking for a good first book on Russian history, I would strongly encourage you to look elsewhere.

Great Intro to Russia

I read the other reviews and can see where they are coming from. This may not be a book for casual readers unfamiliar with the history of empires. It might be too long and not having enough direction (although I would argue--after reading this book--Russia as a country is really rather a country too big with not much direction as well). Russia is a difficult place to write about and I think the author did a superb job.
(I might have a great advantage coming into reading this book that the other reviewers may not have had: I have taken 4 history classes in the last two years and took a year off from school to specifically studied where the world has come from to be what it is, which meant studying the ancient Mediterranean, Greece, Rome, Britain, America, Spain and other empires. Thus, my focus was on how Russia became an empire and the struggles of maintaining its empire and its rank in the world at the same time.)
I found this book excellent because it gave me a greater understanding of a place I am fascinated by. An empire whose elite are Western-bred; whose inhabitants speak about 200 languages and are a mix of Orthodox and other Christians, Muslims, and secularists; a land covering more mass than any other modern country and which borders the EU, China, Mongolia, Central Asia, Korea, and is a stone throw away from Japan, Iran, Turkey, the USA, Canada; a country that was a recognized superpower competitive with the USA; and a country which is currently recovering and reeling at the same time because of disease, an inadequate welfare state, corruption, mobster rule, economic shock policies, and the after taste of Communism. This country and its people are fascinating and the author does a good job of explaining how Russia came to become an empire and how Russia, once an empire, reacted to the diversity of people, and its strange place in the middle of Euraisia as a glob of mixed people and mixed histories. Russia is still trying to attain progress and western permanence and to aquire an identity. Because Russia is such a diverse empire so unlike the relatively homogeneous American empire, it might be difficult for Americans that are casual readers to fully understand a book of this nature. I hope this review helps to encourage some to try and read this book because I feel it would be well worth it.