An authoritative history of Russia from early Rus' to the reign of Peter the Great.

A definitive new history of Russia from early Rus' to the collapse of the Soviet Union

This is a definitive new history of Russia from early Rus' to the successor states that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Volume I encompasses developments before the reign of Peter I; volume II covers the 'imperial era', from Peter's time to the fall of the monarchy in March 1917; and volume III continues the story through to the end of the twentieth century. At the core of all three volumes are the Russians, the lands which they have inhabited and the polities that ruled them, while other peoples and territories have also been given generous coverage for the periods when they came under Riurikid, Romanov and Soviet rule. The distinct voices of individual contributors provide a multitude of perspectives on Russia's diverse and controversial millennial history. This first volume of the Cambridge History of Russia covers the period from early ('Kievan') Rus' to the start of Peter the Great's reign in 1689. It surveys the development of Russia through the Mongol invasions to the expansion of the Muscovite state in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and deals with political, social, economic and cultural issues under the Riurikid and early Romanov rulers. The volume is organised on a primarily chronological basis, but a number of general themes are also addressed, including the bases of political legitimacy; law and society; the interactions of Russians and non-Russians; and the relationship of the state with the Orthodox Church. The international team of authors incorporates the latest Russian and Western scholarship and offers an authoritative new account of the formative 'pre-Petrine' period of Russian history, before the process of Europeanisation had made a significant impact on society and culture. Book jacket.

This is the first book of its kind to draw together information on the major events in Russian history from 1695 to 1917 - covering the eventful period from the accession of Peter the Great to the fall of Nicholas II. Not only is a vast amount of material on key events and topics brought together, but the book also contains fascinating background material to convey the reality of life in the period.

In the Indian Army of my day this was the 10th Baluch Regiment which, on the outbreak of war in 1939, consisted of five active battalions (1st to 5th) and a training battalion (10th). During the war a further eight active service battalions were raised (6th to 9th and 14th to 17th) and in addition three Garrison Battalions and four Garrison Companies, the latter providing security and administrative personnel at schools of instruction, GHQ Delhi and military prisons. In May The 10th Training Battalion at Karachi was redesignated the Baluch Regimental Centre (BRC) . Most of this history is about World War II and the part played by the Regiment, whose battalions served in Waziristan (NW Frontier), Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, N Africa, Eritrea, Sicily, Italy Greece, Malaya, Singapore and Burma, winning two VCs and suffering a total of 6,371 casualties of whom 763 were killed and a further 239 died due to sickness etc. Of the total, 92 were officers holding the King s Commission and 168 the Viceroy s Commission (Jemadar, Subedar and Subedar Major). The operations and battles are well described and supported by plenty of maps and a number of interesting photos. But of particular interest is the part dealing with post-war, the birth of Pakistan, partition and the appalling the massacres of refugees and the break-up of the old Indian Army. The author, who was commissioned in the Baloch Regiment in 1958 and commanded its 17th Battalion, is severely critical of the British government, especially Mountbatten whom he accuses of bias towards India. And then the Kashmir situation which led to war between the two countries in 1947-48 and here the part played by Mountbatten is savaged: The situation had become so intolerable that the Supreme Commander, Field Marshal Auchinleck, resigned in protest against Mountbatten s disgusting partiality. There are a number of most useful appendices listing campaigns and Battle Honours (1939-45), honours and awards, casualty figures in detail, succession of COs of all the battalions, the reconstituted Baloch Regiment-1956 and more. There are extensive footnotes and an impressive bibliography and an index.