Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

Richly illustrated volume begins with a background to tsarism- the princes of Muscovy and Novgorod who preceded it. The reader is then taken from 1462-1918, featuring each tsar in turn with fascinating eye-witness accounts from envoys who visited them, and explanations of the wars and revolutions that took place. There's also little side articles on relevant matters such as who were the Cossacks? Interesting and very readable

I found this book to be both entertianing and informative. If you have an interest in Russian history this is a book you will pick up agian and agian. It's concise and organized chronologically. In response to certian other reviewers: The coverage of those rulers known as the Dukes of Muscovy is scanty because this is a chronicle of the TSARS not the Dukes of Muscovy.

Quite interesting and informative; this book gives a reign-by-reign summary of each Tsar from Ivan III in 1462 to Nicholas II in 1917, with a brief epilogue. The writing is readable, if not as much so as some of the best historical writers (such as David McCullough)but much better than many writers of history who seem to feel that it isn't professional to exhibit style. Definitely a worthwhile reference.

If you are interested in Russian history, as I am, this book should be essential reading for you. It details the reigns of all of the Russian Tsars from their beginning to the end of Nicholas II. Additionally, there are sidebar paragraphs and whole picture pages (with beautiful color photos) that tells the reader more about life and times in Russia during a particular reign.

We read about the begining of Rus as a very small land area which, over the centuries, grew into the country we are familiar with today, even with all of the changes of the past decade or two. I found the entire book fascinating, and would highly recommend it!

I received it as a gift and was pleased to see that it is a very good book. Well written, good pictures and well researched. It makes an excellent reference.

I love this book it has so much info about the Czar.Ilove the maps time lines and charts one of the best Czar books I ever read.