Russia

Tsar Nicholas II and his family arrived on the Isle of Wight on August 2nd, 1909, during the week of the Cowes Regatta.

Past experiments with liberal democracy have led Russia to the brink of civil war, economic collapse and the plunder of state resources. Daniel Beer explains why most Russians feel happier with a strongman firmly in control.

John Swift examines a vital element of the Cold War and assesses the motives of the Superpowers.

Ian D. Thatcher defends the record of Josef Stalin’s successor, Nikita Khrushchev, and sees him as a forerunner of Gorbachev.

In 1709 Russia emerged as a major power after a clash of armies in Ukraine. Peter the Great’s victory, Derek Wilson argues, had repercussions that last to this day.

The most influential of 19th-century Russian wits was born on 31 March 1809.

Stella Rock sees a renaissance of religious traditions at what was one of Russia’s most vibrant monasteries before the Soviet purge.

What was the nature of the clandestine correspondence between the future Catherine the Great and the British ambassador to St Petersburg?

Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered on July 17th, 1918.

Nigel Watson recalls a mysterious explosion that occurred in deepest Siberia on 30 June 1908.