Letters from Russia (New York Review Books Classics)

by Astolphe De Custine, Anka Muhlstein, Astolphe Custine

Release Date: 12 March, 2002

Edition: Paperback

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The great classic work of Imperial Russia from a French Aristocrat who ultimately finds Russian Autocracy too much to take. Wordy, opinionated, and not very in depth, an essayist after the French style, Custine's letters are nevertheless invaluable to a student of Russia history or anyone who simply wants to understand imperial Russia. His description of St. Petersburg and Moscow, his personal meeting with Tsar Nicholas I, make it well worth it. While I don't agree with the idea that the Soviet period was simply an extension of Tsarist Russia, one nevertheless gets an idea of what Russia under Nicholas was like, and how the Revolutionaries gained a hearing in this atmosphere. Most importantly, its small enough to curl up in bed with!