Chronicle of the Russian Tsars: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Russia [Hardcover]

David Warnes (Author), Toby A. Wilkinson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Chronicle | Publication Date: June 1, 1999

An introduction to the key debates of Russian history. How did a small principality develop into a vast empire? Why did Russia develop political and social institutions so different from those of the West, which led the country on such a different path in the 20th century? The book relates the facts behind the reputations of tsars such as Ivan the Terrible, whose reign of terror was unparalleled in Russian history until Stalin; Peter the Great, dynamic reformer and dedicated Westernizer; Catherine the Great, the determined young German princess who usurped power and became the archetypal enlightened autocrat; and the weak-willed Nicholas II, a devotee of divine right in a period of devastating change. Here too are the less familiar but equally intriguing personalities who occupied Russia's imperial throne: the territorially-ambitious Ivan III, the warm-hearted and irascible Alexei Mikhailovich, and the reactionary Nicholas I. The book contains timelines which provide at-a-glance guides to the length and decisive events of each reign. There are genealogical trees of the Romanovs and their predecessors, and datafiles for every tsar detailing lineage, wives and children, and place and cause of death. There are over 90 sidebars and special features ranging from the building of the Moscow Kremlin to the lovers of Catherine the Great. The illustrations include portraits of every tsar and key political player, art treasures, architecture, maps and plans.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

-Warnes has done a masterful job of bringing to life 1000 years of fascinating Russian history. The introduction gives a good historical overview of how Tsarism came into being. The succeeding chapters are divided by major political events and social upheaval. For instance, one chapter (1598-1605) is the "Time of Trouble." The reign of each tsar is analyzed within this framework, highlighting major events, but also giving abundant personal details such as marriages, children, etc. Numerous highlighted boxes in each chapter give either family trees or explain something of interest in that time period, such as "serfdom in the period of Elizabeth" or "Tsar Alexei's Shopping List." There are numerous quotes from personal letters, contemporary historians, and other primary sources as well as many maps of major battles or other historical events. With an extensive epilogue; a huge "select bibliography"; a list of illustration credits; and an easy-to-read, well-organized text, this is a fine choice for students doing research on a specific ruler, or for those who are just interested in the story of Imperial Russia.
Susan McFaden, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This is the latest in the Chronicle series; prior works have dealt with Chinese emperors, Egyptian pharaohs, popes, and Roman emperors. Warnes, who also wrote a fine general history of modern Russia, has provided a useful and very informative study of tsars from Ivan III to the ill-fated Nicholas II. While the superbly organized text is geared toward general readers, specialists will find considerable value here; Warnes' speculations on the causes of Russian eastward expansion and on the actual relations between church and state are both provocative and credible. Lavish illustrations and instructive maps supplement the text. For high-school, college, and public libraries, this survey will be a valuable resource. Jay Freeman

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500050937
• ISBN-13: 978-0500050934
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #560,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Education & Reference > Genealogy > United Kingdom

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent ready-reference tool, July 30, 2005

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Chronicle of the Russian Tsars: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Russia (Hardcover)

The first Russian state emerged in the late 9th century as a federation of Slavic kingdoms and tribes around Kiev, under the leadership of Rurik, who almost certainly was of Scandinavian origin. Later rulers included such major figures as Alexander Nevsky (who defeated the Teutonic Knights) and Vasily II (who made the Orthodox Church independent), but the author begins his survey with Ivan III "the Great" in 1462. Each tsar or tsarina gets a boxed summary of personal data, an historical survey of the reign, a variety of illustrations and relevant maps, and often a basic genealogical drop-chart. Warnes is a well-known scholar of Russian history and culture and his interpretations of five centuries of Russian history are astute and well-written. Specialists in Western Europe often know very little about Russian history and the several dynasties that made it. This volume makes a good ready-reference resource.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent, absorbing study, much in need of editing, August 18, 2005

By 

Bruce D. Wilner "Bruce David Wilner" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chronicle of the Russian Tsars: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Russia (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this balanced account of the czars. I wish there could have been more treatment of those that preceded the Romanovs--I guess you'd call them the "Dukes of Muscovy"--but it's probably for obvious reasons (viz., the availability of 15th-century vs. 19th-century sources) that they're slighted. Watch out for editorial problems all over the place. In one diagram, somebody's wife is also indicated as that same somebody's daughter. This is just plain laziness: someone neglected to sufficiently carefully review the diagram and delete the offending 5 mm. line segment. Also, in a factoid box summarizing Nikolai II, his father is listed as Aleksandr II when, in fact, his father was quite obviously Aleksandr III. Also, the book steered uncomfortably clear of some of the unsolved mysteries of the throne, e.g., by reducing the eighteen-day rule of Czar Konstantin (27 Nov.-14 Dec. 1825) to but a single, unstressed sentence. In overall quality, this book compares favorably to the other members of the series: indeed, it is often superior. But, in its striving for balance, it omits some important coverage. More deserves to be said about Ivann IV Vasiliyevich ("The Terrible"--in actuality, "The Awesome" is the proper translation of his title, "Groznij") and Pyotr I Alekseyevich ("The Great") because these czars made outstanding contributions that shaped the character of Russia, not just because they were on the throne for 30+ years. The czars' role in Russian history cannot be compared to the role of any other succession of leaders in the history of any other nations: the czars were the heart and soul of the empire they so tenderly loved with such religious conviction (not to mention "the divine right of kings"); without exaggeration, the czars WERE Russia.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended as informed and informative reading for non-specialist general readers, March 15, 2010

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chronicle of the Russian Tsars (Chronicles) (Paperback)

For more than a thousand years, Russian history was an uninterrupted story of both internal and external political violence from which occasionally emerged rules of legend. In "Chronicle of the Russian Tsars" The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Russia" by historian and author David Warnes provides a comprehensive 224-page history that draws upon original source materials (including personal letters, contemporary historical documents, and maps of major battles) to provide a detailed, chronologically organized history of the reign of each of the twenty-six tsars who held the throne of the Russian empire. Profusely illustrated throughout, "Chronicle of the Russian Tsars" provides succinct biographies of the tsars, time lines, genealogical information. Of special note are the more than ninety 'sidebars' and special features providing social, cultural, and technological contextual information. Ideal for students researching Russian history, "Chronicle of the Russian Tsars" is also highly recommended as informed and informative reading for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the tsars of Russia.