“A gripping and supremely readable book by the doyen of our historians of Russia, who truly knows how to bring this story of tsars and commissars to life. It combines shrewd analysis of Russia's unique appetite for empire with a wonderful narrative pace and fine scholarship.” —Simon Sebag-Montefiore

“Longworth has a light, informed touch. . . . This attractive account comes from an expert on important topics in more than one century.” —Robert Service, Sunday Times

“A vivid, highly readable style. . . . Russia is a brilliantly ambitious survey of the whole of Russia's imperial past. It is a battleground that has long been fought upon by historians. . . . Longworth's gifts of synthesis and selection are especially well displayed. . . . [He has] an eye for essentials and a deep underlying knowledge.” —Lawrence Kelly, Literary Review

“Absorbing. . . . Longworth develops the idea in fascinating detail.” —Michael Kerrigan, Scotsman

“This is not a history of the Soviet Empire or of the Romanov Empire but a history of the expansion and contraction of four Russian empires. . . . This approach . . . tackle[s] a weakness in English-speakers whose countries . . . have expanded but . . . have remained static for some time. Russia is an exception to the rule and one needs to understand this in order to make sense of the current state of Russia today. . . . Where this excellent book excels is in its perspective because . . . what we now have is the end of one peculiarly Russian cycle, not the end of Russian history.” —Contemporary Review

“Fascinating and pregnant issues. . . . Longworth thinks and writes briskly . . . [and] his authority is commanding. . . . Above all, it is insight into the quintessence of being Russian that makes this such rewarding reading. . . . As too few other contemporary historians do, Longworth understands the predictive powers of history.” —The Times