'Superb... Immensely important... This is a tragic story, and Smith tells it magnificently' The TelegraphOne of the most anticipated books of 2026 according to Financial Times and New StatesmanAn extraordinarily atmospheric and powerful history of the world's largest state and its decline and fallWith Stalin's death, the Soviet Union remained a repressive, harsh and belligerent place, but ...

'This exciting and provocative book blows apart misconceptions about the Russian past' Lara Douds, Times Higher EducationRussia is an exceptional country, the biggest in the world. It is both European and exotic, powerful and weak, brilliant and flawed. Why are we so afraid of it?Time and again, we judge Russia by unique standards. We have usually assumed that it possesses higher levels of cunning, malevolence and brutality. Yet th...

Brought to you by Penguin.Russia is an exceptional country, the biggest in the world. It is both European and exotic, powerful and weak, brilliant and flawed. Why are we so afraid of it?Time and again, we judge Russia by unique standards. We have usually assumed that it possesses higher levels of cunning, malevolence and brutality. Yet the country has more often than not been a crucial ally, not least against Napoleon and in the two world wars. We admire it...

**Brought to you by Penguin.An extraordinarily atmospheric and powerful history of the world's largest country and its decline and fall.**With Stalin's death, the Soviet Union remained a repressive, harsh and belligerent place, but one which became more predictable for its citizens and one which made a genuine attempt to create the egalitarian, progressive country that the Russian Revolution had once promised. That this attempt would fail was not clear until the 1980s....