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A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev cover art

A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev

By: Mark Steinberg, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Mark Steinberg
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Summary

It's difficult to imagine a nation with a history more compelling for Americans than Russia. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, this was the nation against which we measured our own nation's values and power and with whom war, if it ever came, could spell unimaginable catastrophe for our planet.

Yet many Americans have never had the opportunity to study Russia in depth, and to see how the forces of history came together to shape a future so different from the dreams of most ordinary Russian people, eager to see their nation embrace Western values of progress, human rights, and justice.

Now a much-honored teacher has created a series of 36 lectures designed to give you one of the deepest glimpses into Russia you've ever had - a vivid journey through 300 years of Russian history as seen through the eyes of her own people. You'll discover historical themes made clear not by discussing treaties, war declarations, or economic statistics - but by examining the lives and ideas of the men and women who were Russia: tsars, emperors, Communist Party leaders, writers, artists, peasants, and factory workers.

You'll grasp what Russian life was like as Professor Steinberg analyzes ideas of power not only from the viewpoint of its rulers, but also from that of the ruled; the theme of happiness and its pursuit that resonates throughout Russian history, and ideas of morality and ethics as wielded by both the Russian state and its critics.

And you'll listen as he brings alive the vibrant Russian imagination - so willing to visualize a different kind of life for its people, yet so burdened by its darker sides of doubt and pessimism that those visions were rejected.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses

What listeners say about A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev

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    2 out of 5 stars

Not a complete history of Russia

An interesting course, but calling it a history of Russia is a bit of a stretch. This is a history of culture and political views in Russia, but not a history of the country as a whole. The author is happy to talk for hours about a particular philosophical idea in Russia's history, but is clearly uncomfortable or simply uninterested in any aspect of geography, geopolitics, relations with neighbours, war, or any of the other aspects that form the history of a country. The multitude of wars with the Ottoman empire is only mentioned as "the Ottomans, whom Russia was fighting all the time, did this and that". The wars and interactions with any of its other neighbours are completely ignored. WW2 is the only one where some detail is provided, though not much. The war if Afghanistan, which was an important part of modern Russian history, is mentioned in one sentence, only in the context of listing things that made people unhappy at the time.
It's not just war that is completely left out - aspects of competition for resources, particular geopolitical interests, things like the desire for a warm water port, they are all only briefly mentioned, with no explanation or context, or just ignored completely.
Throughout the book I never get any sense of understanding Russia's place in the world, its borders or its conquers back in the imperial days. From this point of view it is a massive disappointment.

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6 people found this helpful

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  • d
  • 03-01-15

This is wonderful

What made the experience of listening to A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev the most enjoyable?

Such scale, such knowledge, such a personable style of delivery. I loved every minute of it. Makes me want to go and read about each and every one of the figures and events described. Truly inspiring. My only slight reservation is that Mark's voice gets a little hoarse which is not surprising, given the amount of text, while the canned applause is not convincing.

What about Professor Mark Steinberg’s performance did you like?

I thought he was great - obviously, he is steeped in the subject!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - i had to listen to each lecture separately, as the amount of information was daunting.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

Great overview of modern russian history

If you could sum up A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev in three words, what would they be?

informative, interesting, surprising

What did you like best about this story?

I think this was a good overview of a very complex history, I really liked the lecture format of the great courses (first one I have listened too). I am a big fan of Audible and listen to a lot of audio books, particularly whist driving, and I do find on occasion my attention will wander with a conventional audio book. But in this instance, there is something about the lecture format that keeps you engaged and wanting to hear more. There is also some subtle repetition from one lecture to the next, which reinforces elements that can easily be forgotten, especially if you listen to a lot of weighty history books on audible.

Have you listened to any of Professor Mark Steinberg’s other performances? How does this one compare?

This is the first thing I have ever heard with Mark Steinberg, but will prompt me to look him up elsewhere.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not so much moved, given they are lectures, but you do feel for the peasantry and Russian people at large, and the "life is cheap" attitude where soldiers where sent to war under equipped and told there are plenty of guns and bullets lying next to dead soldiers. Also the fatalism of Nicholas the II, who attended a ball on the night of his coronation after over thousand had died only hours earlier in a crowd stampede, saying god wills it.

Any additional comments?

Really enjoyed the format and really enjoyed finding out more about Russian history, will definitely download more Great Courses in the future. There are some occasions where the lectures can have you a bit out of sync, talking extensively about in-fighting among the soviets in one chapter, and bouncing back to 1905 revolution in the next, but fortunately it wasn't too jarring. I am sure each individual chapter of the history could form a course in of itself, and I hope that there will be further works in this area.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

An entertaining overview of modern Russian history

Like with many great courses the course is quite broad and shallow in some places, but it gives a good overview with an emphasis on the history of ideas in Russia. In particular I liked the episodes on the intelligentsia and the nihilists, in general the lecturer excels when he talks about intellectual and social history. I would of liked to have heard more about events like the Cuba missile crisis and the war in Afghanistan but I understand there wasn't enough time and they weren't relevant to domestic affairs.

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3 people found this helpful

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Disappointed it wasn't more about history.

At times I felt I was listening to a philosophy course rather than one on Russian history. The last chapter on The fall of the USSR felt super rushed.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

great to hear about russian

A really good guide to give you a thorough history of Russia and it rulers

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    3 out of 5 stars

Very cursory but OK for a complete novice

The lecturer is very good and I especially liked the fact that he knows a lot or Russian phrases and terms and uses them correctly. Surely is enjoyable, but no depth at all, which isn't surprising, given how huge is the scope. You won't get details and some interesting events are skipped.

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    1 out of 5 stars

Not a history of Russia

This is a story of life, thinking and a bit of domestic policy in Russia. Foreign policy is totally omitted. Post war era has no mention at all of atomic bomb, Sputnik, Gagarin, Korean War, Castro, missile crises, Hungary 56, Czechoslovakia 68 or Afghanistan. Instead we hear a lot about the improvement in material life under Brezhnev! Further back no mention of congress of Vienna, The Triple Entente, Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam. Napoleonic war is one sentence!

Once you realize it is not what the title says some of the chapters are interesting although it is often cumbersome to extract the snippets of substance beneath the flurry of words.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

It’s a very understanding of the Russian mindset

I would listen to this lecture again.

It’s a very understanding of the Russian mindset

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Brilliant

He conjure up vivid sense of what society throughout different periods. Detailed enough to be thorough but without being dense.

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