Orlando Figes Audio Books

From "the great storyteller of Russian history", a brilliantly colored account of the myths that have shaped and reshaped Russia's identity and politics from its founding

Drawing on a huge range of sources - letters, memoirs, conversations - Orlando Figes tells the story of how Russians tried to endure life under Stalin. Those who shaped the political system became, very frequently, its victims. Those who were its victims were frequently quite blameless.

From the "master of historical narrative" (Financial Times), a dazzling, richly detailed, panoramic work - the first to document the genesis of a continent-wide European culture.

History on a grand scale - an enchanting masterpiece that explores the making of one of the world's most vibrant civilizations.

Opening with a panorama of Russian society, from the cloistered world of the Tsar to the brutal life of the peasants, A People's Tragedy follows workers, soldiers, intellectuals and villagers as their world is consumed by revolution and then degenerates into violence and dictatorship.

After five years as a prisoner, 29-year-old Lev Mishchenko unexpectedly received a letter from Sveta, the sweetheart he had hardly dared hope was still alive.....

The terrible conflict that dominated the mid-19th century, the Crimean War, killed at least 800,000 men and pitted Russia against a formidable coalition of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire.