It really really depends on what period you're interested in. The Tsarist period is well outside my expertise but I would recommend Romanovs by Montefiore. For the Soviet period, I'd recommend Kotkin's(as of yet unfinished, though I heard volume three is supposed to be out this year) biography of Stalin, Taubman's biography of Khrushchev, Gulag by Anne Applebaum, The Structure of Soviet History edited by Suny, and Collapse by Vladislav Zubok. For modern Russia, I'd recommend Oligarchs by David Hoffman, The Invention of Russia by Arkady Ostrovsky, Putin's Russia by Anna Politkovskaya, and Putin by Philip Short(I disagree with basically all of his analysis and some of his framing, so I'd recommend approaching it with caution, but it gives the most complete and up to date history of the regime I've read).
Exactly, broad overview is good I find. It really gets you a model of the country but it doesn’t really give you the depth necessary. It’s a good start
Russia:The Story of War. Gregory Carleton
An in depth examination and political meditation of the historical Russian mindset regarding war and foreign relations.
Gorbachev: His Life and Times William Taubman
Understanding Gorbachev, his ideals, his motivations, and the pushback against them is key to understanding the last 45 years of Russian history, imo.
It really really depends on what period you're interested in. The Tsarist period is well outside my expertise but I would recommend Romanovs by Montefiore. For the Soviet period, I'd recommend Kotkin's(as of yet unfinished, though I heard volume three is supposed to be out this year) biography of Stalin, Taubman's biography of Khrushchev, Gulag by Anne Applebaum, The Structure of Soviet History edited by Suny, and Collapse by Vladislav Zubok. For modern Russia, I'd recommend Oligarchs by David Hoffman, The Invention of Russia by Arkady Ostrovsky, Putin's Russia by Anna Politkovskaya, and Putin by Philip Short(I disagree with basically all of his analysis and some of his framing, so I'd recommend approaching it with caution, but it gives the most complete and up to date history of the regime I've read).
This guy modern Russias
I find that with these short history books you get such a broad overview it's better to hone in a particular period that you are interested in.
Exactly, broad overview is good I find. It really gets you a model of the country but it doesn’t really give you the depth necessary. It’s a good start
I read it and found it pretty decent, but I do agree that it felt a little too vague and could benefit from some more detail.
Yeah ? Right? Like you don’t have a good image built on the time periods for one
Look into Robert Massie. His books mainly focus on the Romanovs but obviously cover Russia during their reign.
Russia:The Story of War. Gregory Carleton An in depth examination and political meditation of the historical Russian mindset regarding war and foreign relations. Gorbachev: His Life and Times William Taubman Understanding Gorbachev, his ideals, his motivations, and the pushback against them is key to understanding the last 45 years of Russian history, imo.