Modern Russia History

Experience an immersive narrative history of survival, empire, and cultural triumph across ten centuries. Perfect for transforming a long commute into an epic journey, this evocative timeline bypasses dry dates to reveal the beating heart of a complex civilization. Walk alongside the resilient...

'A fresh, unexpected, and revealing portrait of Russia' ANNE APPLEBAUM, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag and Red Famine 'A century of Russian history told through the women who lived it, shaped it, and survived it' NADYA TOLOKONNIKOVA, founder of Pussy Riot Award-winning journalist Julia...

Uncover the dramatic rise and fall of empires in this gripping geopolitical history of autocracy and revolution. Whether you're commuting to work or seeking clarity on today’s global conflicts, this immersive narrative transforms complex centuries into an intense, character-driven journey. You...

Explore a gripping political history defined by the relentless clash between brutal autocracy and desperate reform. Perfect for your commute, this immersive narrative transports you from the origins of Kievan Rus to the heavily fortified modern Kremlin. Experience the dramatic rise of absolute...

Experience the gripping fall of a mighty empire in this immersive European history of the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. Perfect for your morning commute, this dramatic narrative transports you straight to the freezing, riot-torn streets of Petrograd where a three-century-old dynasty crumbled...

A history of Russia in the twentieth century unlike any other - from the Russian revolution to the oligarchs of the '90s, via the Holodomor, the siege of Leningrad and Chernobyl. What's Cooking in the Kremlin is a tale of feast and famine told from the kitchen, the narrative of one of the most...

Bloomsbury presents The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley, read by Jot Davies. From the author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Kingdoms, an epic Cold War novel set in a mysterious town in Soviet Russia with a slow burn romance at its heart. In 1963, in a Siberian prison...

From an award-winning scholar, this definitive history reveals the tensions and transformations of the Russian Revolution. “McMeekin writes muscular history. His Russian Revolution grips the reader.” —Niall Ferguson In The Russian Revolution, acclaimed historian Sean McMeekin traces the...

“Riveting—a delicious odyssey full of history, humor, and jaw-dropping stories. If you want to understand the making of modern Russia, read this book.” —Daniel Stone, bestselling author of The Food Explorer A high-spirited, eye-opening, appetite-whetting culinary travel adventure by an...

Step into a gripping military history where imperial hubris and catastrophic blunders birthed the modern medical era. Perfect for your daily commute, this intense narrative sweeps from opulent European courts to the disease-ridden trenches of the Black Sea. Witness how a provincial religious...

Trace the roots of modern war in this gripping European history detailing a turbulent struggle for independence. Perfect for a focused morning commute or an educational deep dive, this objective narrative transports you directly to contested borderlands and embattled cities. Move beyond daily...

A Telegraph Best Book 2025 'Elegant and terrifying, the story of those who gave up life in the West for Ukraine's frontlines – some to save democracy, some to save themselves. A modern-day Homage to Catalonia – and Fight Club on steroids.' – Oliver Poole, London Standard ‘A great read’...

Uncover the inspiring European history of how isolated forest tribes survived rival empires to build a Nordic powerhouse. Perfect for a focused commute, this atmospheric journey traces a stoic population navigating the icy landscapes of the north. Witness the ultimate underdog story of survival...

Brought to you by Penguin. ‘We were so happy and didn’t know it…’ A thirty-three-year-old writer lives in a quiet European suburb with his wife and his dog. His parents have bought an apartment nearby. On weekends they go out for brunch, cook and see friends. Life is good; it is normal...

Trace the epic Asian history of the Mongol Empire, tracking fierce nomads from Eurasian conquest to modern survival. Perfect for your daily commute, this dramatic narrative plunges you into the windswept steppe where scattered warriors became a legendary geopolitical force. Whether you are...

Bloomsbury presents The Multiethnic Soviet Union and its Demise by Brigid O'Keeffe, read by Leighton Pugh. This book is the first to offer a concise, accessible overview of the evolution of the Soviet Union as a multiethnic empire. It reflects on how the Soviet Union was home to many ethnic...

Bloomsbury presents The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley, read by Jot Davies. A SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022 The Times Historical Fiction Book of the Month The truth must come out. In 1963, in a Siberian gulag, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to...

‘A must-read for those fascinated by the decline and fall of the USSR and the emergence of a new Russia’ – Mark Galeotti, author of Forged in War 'Finely argued, carefully researched, and beautifully written' – Norman M. Naimark, author of Stalin and the Fate of Europe From the acclaimed...

In Kremlin Winter, Robert Service, acclaimed biographer of Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky and one of the finest historians of modern Russia, brings his deep understanding of that country to bear on the man who leads it. 'One of our most accomplished, erudite and prolific historians of modern Russia'...

Bloomsbury presents Nuclear Russia by Paul Josephson, read by Leighton Pugh. In the first cultural and political history of the Russian nuclear age, Paul Josephson describes the rise of nuclear physics in the USSR, the enthusiastic pursuit of military and peaceful nuclear programs through the...