But if and when Putinism collapses, we would do well to learn from the past and not treat the country simply as a blank canvas on which to project Western-style democracy. They are characterized as essentially doomed to failure. But the author’s glossing over the Westernizing 1990s is perhaps most disappointing. There are some mischaracterizations here. Even more nuance is missing from later Soviet history, including the paradoxical figure of the reformer Nikita Khrushchev. In fact, the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 was the result of not only bungling by the reactionary Czar Nicholas II but also dumb luck and German support - the ensuing civil war could have gone either way. developments from the mid-19th century on are treated increasingly superficially, presented as all but inevitable consequences of earlier history. It is testament to the pervasiveness of Russian myths that Figes perpetuates some of them. Figes makes a key point about how the challenges of geography and climate have reinforced a long-held perception about the need for collective responsibility and strong autocratic leadership. Figes aims in this primer to explain how central narratives used to justify the current leadership have been shaped and exploited over centuries. Orlando Figes provides valuable lessons about the importance of mythologizing the country’s past in his sweeping new survey of Russian history.
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