Russian History for the Rest of Us!
“Russia’s colorful history,” suggests American writer and Russian historian, Jennifer Eremeeva, “should ideally be experienced on a huge, 3D IMAX screen, with the surround sound booming and a jumbo bucket of popcorn in your lap.”
Eremeeva should know: as a former tour guide and Ivy League-educated historian, Eremeeva is adept at making Russia’s complex history both entertaining and digestible for non-academics. She strolls expertly but lightly through her material, tracing the winning formula for Russia’s effective rulers back to the Tatar-Mongols.
Have Personality Disorder, Will Rule Russia reveals why Ivan may not have been so Terrible; explaining why Catherine was so totally awesome, and asserting that neither Peter the Great nor Stalin would ever tweet anything.
Eremeeva encourages us to peek inside Empress Elizabeth’s baroque boudoir; she deconstructs Gorbachev’s curiously-split personality and shows us exactly where the bodies are buried.
Eremeeva’s unique fusion of humor and history and inimitable writing style brings the riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma that is Russia into hilarious focus in this compact and highly readable guide to thirteen centuries of her history.
In Have Personality Disorder, Will Rule Russia: A Pocket Guide to Russian History, Eremeeva distills thirteen centuries of Russia’s complex history into entertaining chapters. The reader moves effortlessly from the emerging Russian state in the ninth century through the aftermath of the 2014 Annexation of Crimea.
For readers embarking on a visit to Russia or an exploration of the country’s rich literature and culture, this engaging primer offers a succinct, informative, and highly entertaining introduction to the country’s complex and expansive history.
The updated third edition includes access to extensive companion web pages, reading lists, and sightseeing suggestions to enhance readers’ exploration of the world’s largest country.
