In order to assure brevity and clarity without missing the spirit of Russia or losing a sense of the complexities of life (ever-present complexities which can be unraveled only in retrospect by historians), particular care has been taken to supplement the text with appropriate appendices. The chronological table, for instance, divulges by the very sequence of events the logical and sometimes illogical course of his- tory and its influence on our lives. The maps reveal better than any description the causes and results of major trends. The index provides a biographical dictionary and a glossary of foreign terms, particularly useful.
In this robust historical set during the Romanov twilight, Alexander (The Kitchen Boy ) chronicles the careers of two emblematic individuals-the real-life Grand Duchess Elisavyeta ("Ella"), sister of Alexandra, the last tsarina, and the fictional Pavel, a young revolutionary. The author's extensive knowledge of Russia allows him to invigorate the narrative with telling details that bring the aristocrat Ella, who eventually became an Orthodox saint, convincingly to life.
Guns for the Tsar: American Technology and the Small Arms Industry in Nineteenth-Century Russia
This is a detailed study of the development of the Russian small arms industry. Humiliated in the Crimean War, Russia turned to the United States for help. Using archival sources, Bradley, author of Muzhik and Muscovite: Urbanization in Late Imperial Russia (Univ. of California Pr., 1985), describes the role of famous gunsmiths like Colt, Smith, and Wesson; they provided Russia with machinery, tools, production techniques, and even workers to build an independent arms industry. Assimilation was only partially successful; an inflexible economy hindered military modernization. A 30-page bibliography and 40 pages of footnotes testify to Bradley's meticulous research and academic style.
The sudden death of Russia's president has thrown the Russian Federation into chaos. Devastating crop failures have left millions in the grip of famine, and an uprising seems inevitable. One of Russia's provisional leaders asks the American president for help. But the whole world is watching when a deadly terrorist attack stuns the United States-and evidence points to the Russian government.
The Cold War is over. And chaos is setting in. The new President of Russia is trying to create a new democratic regime. But there are strong elements within the country that are trying to stop him: the ruthless Russian Mafia, the right wing nationalists, and those nefarious forces that will do whatever it takes to return Russia back to the days of the Czar. Op-Center, the newly founded but highly successful crisis management team, begins a race against the clock and against the hardliners. Their task is made even more difficult by the discovery of a Russian counterpart . . . but this one's controlled by those same repressive hardliners.
