{"product_id":"9781398131064","title":"The Short History of Russia : Returning to Another Country","description":"\u003cp\u003e Author(s): Black, Jeremy \u003cbr\u003e Binding: Hardback, \u003cbr\u003e Date of Publication: 15\/01\/2026,\u003cbr\u003e Pagination: 256 pages, 20 Illustrations,\u003cbr\u003e ISBN13\\EAN\\SKU: 9781398131064,\u003cbr\u003e Description: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe invasion of Ukraine in 2022 began a new episode in history and was surrounded by a miscellany of historical claims. This book is a succinct, up-to-date guide to the histories on offer about and from Russia, one that seeks to make sense of present issues and future prospects, as well as of the past. There is a heavy emphasis on war and international relations, but that is appropriate not only for the past but also for a present in which both are to the fore. Peter the Great (r. 1689-1725), an eager moderniser, was viewed as an un-Russian evil phenomenon in light of his denial of the divine identity of traditional Russian monarchy, his blasphemy, his theft of time from God when he changed the calendar, and his sacrilegious violation of the image of God in man when he forced men to cut off their beards.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVladimir Putin cuts off no beards, he is no moderniser; the fall of the Berlin Wall left him with an abiding mistrust of democracy and ‘People’s Power’. At Davos in 2000, American journalist Trudy Rubin asked a panel of top Russian officials: ‘Who is Mr Putin?’ None of them could answer, except to say: ‘He is the President of Russia.’ How did this KGB foreign intelligence officer become (temporarily) Trump’s favourite running dog of capitalism? To answer the question, we have to understand what Russia was. There is a continuity that will give us a clue about what it is and will become.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Griffin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56351251366261,"sku":"9781398131064","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0379\/1365\/7388\/files\/9781398131064.jpg?v=1763300010","url":"https:\/\/www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk\/products\/9781398131064","provider":"Griffin Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}