Author(s): Martin Sixsmith

Popular History

"Accompanying the landmark BBC Radio 4 series, and marking the 20th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR, Russia- The Wild East tells the epic story of this vast nation, tracing the conundrums of modern Russia to their roots in its troubled past. Russia is a country of contradictions, a nation of high morals, exceptional cultural refinement and artistic originality, and yet also a country that rules by the iron fist, with a repressive and cruel past and an ingrained eagerness to sacrifice the individual in the name of the collectivist cause. In this definitive history, former BBC Moscow correspondent Martin Sixsmith delves into Russia s history to elucidate these tensions, many of which boil down to the pull between Eastern and Western sensibilities, to help us understand why Russia and Russians act the way they do. Churchill once described Russia as a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma . In Russia- The Wild East Sixsmith, sets out to penetrate the complex identity of this mysterious and troubled power to discover the real Russia behind the enigma."