Isabel De Madariaga Knihy

An account of the events of Catherine's life and of the achievements of her reign. Topics include governmental, financial and administrative reforms and her foreign policy. Attention is paid to historical controversies over the interpretation of her policies and to the historiography on the period.

Encompasses the entire life of Ivan the Terrible and views him in the context of his own time. Notorious for a policy of unrestrained terror - and for killing his own son - his reign was devastating for Russia and her people. This book illuminates the reign and the politics, as well as Ivan's marriages and disordered personality.

The most informative, balanced, and up-to-date short study of Catherine the Great and her reign, written by an eminent scholar of Russian history"Not just another biography of Catherine but a panoramic view of Russia's social, political, economic, and cultural development and of its emergence as a formidable power in the international arena during the thirty-four years of her reign."—Anthony Cross, New York Times Book ReviewThis edition includes a new preface dealing with recently discovered sources and revised interpretations of the period.Praise for the earlier edition:“A panoramic view of Russia’s social, political, economic, and cultural development and of its emergence as a formidable power in the international arena during the thirty-four years of [Catherine’s] reign.”—Anthony Cross, New York Times Book Review“De Madariaga’s book will be the standard and an essential guide for all students and scholars of Russian and European history of the second half of the eighteenth century.”—Marc Raeff, Journal of Modern History