Russia in the Age of Peter the Great

Like the luckless hero of Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman," driven mad by St. Petersburg floods, all of Russia is in some sense pursued by the ghost of Peter the Great. Literally larger than life at six foot seven inches, the country's alternately revered and reviled monarch was a man of intense contradictions: famous for introducing Western modes of speech, custom, and thought, he also strengthened the dubious Russian traditions of autocracy and serfdom. Present-day Russians are similarly divided over the Petrine legacy. Admirers point to his striking imperial achievements as well as his success in promoting learning, science, and clerical and legal reform. Critics see in his harsh totalitarian rule the antecedent for despots like Stalin. Either way, it's clear that he was the single person most responsible for dragging Russia from the Middle Ages into the Enlightenment. In Lindsey Hughes's massive, meticulously detailed history, Russia in the Age of Peter the Great, the tsar is depicted warts and all. It's a balanced view, presented in lucid, jargon-free prose and supported by impeccable research. Hughes delves into not only the familiar territory of Peter's military and naval innovations, but also previously underexplored topics such as the changing role of women under his rule. Most intriguingly, she cites the tsar's fondness for masks, role-playing, and disguise. The chapters detailing the peculiarities of Peter's psychology make for perhaps the most absorbing reading in a book full of insights and surprises. Sufficiently rigorous for scholars yet eminently accessible to the general reader, Russia in the Age of Peter the Great is an invaluable addition to the literature surrounding this complicated and fascinating man. --Mary Park