Russian Politics

"Russian history in the lives of its most important figures" - the classic work by prominent Russian historian, one of the founders of Russian historical thought Nikolai Kostomarov.

"Russian history in the lives of its most important figures" - the classic work by prominent Russian historian, one of the founders of Russian historical thought Nikolai Kostomarov.

Yakov Blumkin claimed to have had nine lives. Born to a poor Jewish family and orphaned as a child, he was a Socialist Revolutionary, a terrorist, the assassin of the German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach, a poet close to the avant-garde, a member of Cheka, a military strategist, a secret agent, and Leon Trotsky’s secretary. Executed in 1929 on Stalin’s orders at the age of only twenty-nine, he has continued to inspire a powerful curiosity, and wild rumors and falsehoods about his extraordinary life abound today.

In Killer in the Kremlin, award-winning journalist John Sweeney takes listeners from the heart of Putin's Russia to the killing fields of Chechnya, to the embattled cities of an invaded Ukraine. In a disturbing exposé of Putin's sinister ambition, Sweeney draws on thirty years of his own reporting - from the Moscow apartment bombings to the atrocities committed by the Russian Army in Chechnya, to the annexation of Crimea and a confrontation with Putin over the shooting down of flight MH17 - to understand the true extent of Putin's long war.

Legendario espía y restaurador de arte, Gabriel Allon por fin ha roto sus lazos con la inteligencia israelí y se ha establecido tranquilamente en Venecia, el único lugar donde ha conocido de verdad la paz. Su bella esposa, Chiara, ha tomado la dirección cotidiana de la Compañía de Restauración Tiepolo, y sus dos pequeños hijos han sido inscritos con discreción en la escuela primaria del vecindario. Por su parte, Gabriel pasa sus días paseando por las calles y los canales de la ciudad acuosa, despidiéndose de los demonios de su trágico, violento, pasado.

In this timely and incisive book, Sergei Medvedev argues that Russia's war in Ukraine was not merely a whim of Putin's obsession: rather, it was the result of two decades of authoritarian degradation and post-imperial ressentiment, a culmination of Putin's regime and of Russia's entire imperial history.

2013 год. Сирия. Выполняя задание руководства, двадцатитрехлетний йеменский офицер Муниф-аш-Шараф оказался в плену одной из группировок ИГИЛ. Избежать неминуемой смерти ему удалось благодаря российскому разведчику – Петру Горюнову. Но долг, как известно, платежом красен. И теперь Мунифу предстоит доказать это работая на русскую разведку. Первым поручением, полученным им из Центра после прохождения спецподготовки, стало восстановление его связи с хуситами.

If you want to discover the captivating life of Nicholas II, then pay attention...Tsar Nicholas II is a complicated and controversial figure in Russian history. His rule came on the heels of his autocratic father’s death, and his succession to the throne led to a revolving door of conflicts, from a brutal and bloody coronation to the eventual collapse of the Romanov family as a whole through the efforts of the Russian Revolution. As Nicholas II was such a crucial figure in shaping Russia, he deserves further inspection into his story.

История русской революции—двухтомная книга Льва Троцкого о русской революции 1917 года, впервые опубликованная в 1930 году. Является фундаментальным трудом автора по исторической проблематике, в которой формулируется непосредственная связь между событиями Февральской и Октябрьской революций.

Boris Morros was a major figure in the 1930s and 1940s. The head of music at Paramount, nominated for Academy Awards, he then went on to produce his own films with Laurel and Hardy, Fred Astaire, Henry Fonda, and others. But as J. Edgar Hoover would discover, these successes were a cover for one of the most incredible espionage tales in the history of the Cold War-Boris Morros also worked for Russian intelligence. Morros's assignments took him to the White House, the Vatican, and deep behind the Iron Curtain.

Autumn, 1989. The waning days of the Cold War. A rogue Stasi colonel has acquired a nuclear bomb and threatens to level Berlin if and when the Wall comes down. CIA Agent Nick Harper is called in to foil the plot. Soon after arriving, however, Harper discovers his identity has been compromised. To stay alive, he must go along with a group of passionate young East Berliners who mistake him for their idol, American superstar David Hasselhoff.

In Ukraine, MI6 operative Aidan Snow rescues a British national held by Russian insurgents. In the United States, a terrorist attack is thwarted by a man who does not exist. In Russia, a notorious Chechen terrorist escapes from the nation's most secure prison. In Afghanistan, a Red Army soldier long given up for dead delivers a chilling message: Al-Qaeda has an RA-115A. As the connection between these separate events begins to become clearer, MI6 and the CIA must attempt to prevent the world's first act of nuclear terrorism. And Aidan Snow faces his biggest challenge yet.

What is Vladimir Putin up to? This book examines how the mentality of Putin and his team - the code of Putinism - has shaped Russian politics over the past two decades. It explains not only the thoughts and ideas that motivate Putin's decisions, but also the set of emotions and habits that influence how Putin and his close allies view the world. While some observers portray Putin as either a cold-blooded pragmatist or a strident Russian nationalist, Taylor provides a more nuanced and compelling interpretation of Putin's motives and actions.

In The Red Mirror, Gulnaz Sharafutdinova uses social identity theory to explain Putin's leadership. The main source of Putin's political influence, she finds, lies in how he articulates the shared collective perspective that unites many Russian citizens. Under his tenure, the Kremlin's media machine has tapped into powerful group emotions of shame and humiliation - derived from the Soviet transition in the 1990s - and has politicized national identity to transform these emotions into pride and patriotism.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia under Yeltsin and Putin implemented a political system of "imitation democracy," marked by "a huge disparity between formal constitutional principles and the reality of authoritarian rule." How did this system take shape, how else might it have developed, and what are the prospects for re-envisioning it more democratically in the future? These questions animate Dmitrii Furman's Imitation Democracy, a welcome antidote to books that blandly decry Putin as an omnipotent dictator without considering his platforms, constituencies, and sources of power.

Яркая, полемичная, жесткая работа Ильина, впервые опубликованная в Берлине в 1925г., когда впечатления Гражданской войны и воспоминания об ужасах "красного террора" были у русской эмиграции еще болезненно свежи. В этом посвященном «белым воинам, носителям православного меча» труде властитель дум право-консервативного крыла Русского зарубежья решительно осуждает "непротивленческую" теорию Льва Толстого с ее "сентиментальным морализмом", проводит разграничение между собственно насилием как бессмысленным и жестоким угнетением и "заставлением" - т.е. осознанным и морально оправданным пресечением некоей вредной и опасной деятельности.

They call the pool at the Beverly Glen Hotel "the naked hooker." To the frustration of the Beverly Hills police department, the women there are so high class that it's impossible to distinguish guests and girlfriends from professionals. Women flock to the lavish hotel because it teems with film stars, businessmen - and America's richest criminals. Tonight, to detective Masao Masuto's chagrin, there is the body of a naked man in the pool.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the inevitability of change, the cycle of history, and imprisonment versus freedom. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

No nation is a stranger to war, but for Russians war is a central part of who they are. Their "motherland" has been the battlefield where some of the largest armies have clashed, the most savage battles have been fought, the highest death tolls paid. Having prevailed over Mongol hordes and vanquished Napoleon and Hitler, many Russians believe no other nation has sacrificed so much for the world.

Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, the country's longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d'état when her husband, Peter III, was assassinated. Under her reign, Russia was revitalised; it grew larger and stronger, and was recognised as one of the great powers of Europe. Discover the life and struggles of one of the most influential rulers through this precise, clear and thorough presentation.