The Story of Russia

In Soviet times, when communism was its certain destiny and history was adjusted to reflect that end, there was a joke, which perhaps Orwell had in mind: ‘Russia is a country with a certain future; it is only its past that is unpredictable.

Figes is an authority on Russia and the book is a testament to his mastery of the subject. The Story of Russia is an intriguing, complex, and fascinating topic. The central question explored in the book is the origin of Russia. There are a large number of interpretations of the origin of Russia and each distinctly varied from the other with its inherent amalgamation of myths. “No other country has reimagined its past so frequently,” writes historian Figes in this rich and immersive look at how Russia’s national myths are “continuously reconfigured and repurposed to suit its present needs and reimagine its future.”

The Story of Russia is a short volume on Russia’s history, its national myths on key events in its history. For instance: it examines who is the natural successor to the medieval kingdom of the Kievan Rus and the Byzantium Empire; how living under the Mongols' yoke was broken; the consolidation of a state under Ivan IV; the growth under Peter I and Catherine II; the great patriotic wars; the strong days of the USSR, and the creation of the belief that a strong central ruler equals a strong, prosperous Russia. It is the story of a nation that grew 50 square miles per day, every day, from Ivan IV to the revolution in 1917.

The book is divided into 11 chapters. The first chapter titled ‘Origins’ chronicles Kievan Rus and Byzantium’s Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It delves into the creation of the myth of Holy Russia with Mary as Mother, rather than the Virgin; a largely Roman Catholic interpretation. Subsequent chapters delve into the Mongol impact and the capture of Kyiv on 6 December 1240 effectively marking the end of Kievan Rus. With the subsequent rise of Moscow as a powerful principality, although subject to the Golden Horde. It was not until 1378 that the Mongols could be successfully challenged for the first time. Today the Kulikovo victory over the Mongols is linked in the nationalist consciousness to other episodes when Russia’s military sacrifice ‘saved’ the West, in 1812-15 (against Napoleon) or the Second World War; and each time its sacrifice had been unrecognised by its Western allies in these wars. The country’s deep resentment of the West is rooted in this national notion. Although gradually weakening, Moscow remained a vassal of the Khans until 1502.

Figes thereafter transitions into an examination of Ivan the Terrible (1530-84) and the conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan, with an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Livonia to access the Baltic Sea and the opening up of Siberia, which was conquered by Ivan’s son. The subsequent chapters, ‘Time of Troubles,’ ‘Russia Faces West,’ and ‘The Shadow of Napoleon’ describe the civil war following Ivan the Terrible’s death. This was a consequence of Ivan not having a successor and the choice of a Romanov as the next Tsar ensued leading to the eventual embracing of the European Enlightenment by Catherine the Great (1762-98). Thereafter, the French Revolution turns Russia away from Europe, as does Napoleon’s invasion. He examines the Russian conviction that Russia was responsible for defeating Napoleon.

In the subsequent chapter, ‘An Empire in Crisis’ the author examines the problem of making Russian farming and industry efficient, with serfdom eventually abolished in 1861. Some Tsars embraced European ideas, whilst others chose to remain isolationist. He outlines the build-up to revolution and the breakdown of autocracy. Figes thereafter transitions to chapters titled ‘Revolutionary Russia - the 1917 Revolution, civil war, and the creation of the Soviet State’ and ‘The War on Old Russia’ examining Stalin’s “reign,” including the Five Year Plans, disastrous large-scale agricultural collectivisation, and Stalin’s paranoia leading to the “Great Terror” and show trials in the 1930s.

The penultimate Chapter, ‘Motherland’ chronicles the pragmatic reasons behind the 1939 Soviet-Nazi non-aggression pact and but also its betrayal of ideological communism, the massive casualty rate in the Second World War, when the timing of the invasion had been unexpected. Figes outlines the patriotism and hatred of the Nazis that allowed the country to defeat the invasion. Fascinatingly, the cult of sacrifice was a more important factor than terror. It was the Soviet system’s main advantage over Western liberal societies, where minimising the loss of one’s own soldiers’ lives in warfare was given greater weight by commanders than in the USSR. Stalin died in 1953, to be succeeded by Khrushchev, Brezhnev (1964), Andropov (1982), Chernenko (1984), and Gorbachev (1985). The eventual break-up of the USSR is where Figes closes the book with a discussion of the rise of Putin and how the potential for a more “Western liberal” government was lost, and the possible missed chances, perhaps caused by the “West’s” flawed understanding of Russia.

The focus of the book is not to dive into Russian history in depth but to identify themes and patterns. Figes excels at this, taking the reader back through the centuries to explain the hold of the Russian Orthodox Church; why Russia doesn’t quite see itself as part of Europe; the deep roots and strength of the seemingly unbreakable autocratic tradition; the state’s use of repression and terror against its populace, and the country’s willingness to keep throwing its young people onto the battlefield in such large numbers.

Along with the myths that have shaped Russia’s past, there are recurring themes in The Story of Russia. These themes reflect the structural continuities of geography, systems of belief, modes of rule, political ideas, and social customs that remain so central to the idea of Putin’s Russia. The last chapter of the book attempts to deconstruct Putin’s so-called reinvention of Russia and the idea of the “Russian World”. He also pontificates on the possible courses that the Russia -Ukraine war could take and attempts to outline possibilities for the region. ‘Who controls the past... controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’ George Orwell wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Figes argues that this adage is truer for Russia than any other country in the world. Figes posits that Russian history has been carefully censored and the narrative has been controlled to create the notion of Russia propagated by Putin and his ilk.

The book is largely based on his previous work, including a characterisation of Russian autocracy as “patrimonial” - the state as the personal domain of the czar - most closely associated with the historian Richard Pipes. While the book is admirably short, its purview is so vast that it can't possibly address all key events - how they started and how they shaped history - with enough justice. For instance, the Soviet-Afghan war which spanned a decade, and cost the lives of tens of thousands of Soviet troops and perhaps two million Afghans, gets a single sentence in the book. This seems a serious shortcoming, and yet its implications for the Soviet economy, international status, and internal cohesion were vast. Surprisingly, Figes does not touch upon the cold war and its implications both within and external to Russia. However, Figes effectively explains how central narratives being used to justify the current leadership, have been shaped and exploited over centuries.

Overall, a book that helps develop a basic understanding of Russia and its foundational constructs. It is well-written and concise; however, it may not be enough for those seeking a more scholarly examination of the history of Russia.