Can you recommend me any good books to read ?
There are three main sources of Russian history that i know of - Nikolay Karamzin, Sergey Solovyov and
Vasily Klyuchevsky, but only the last one is availible in English:
History of Russia In my personal opinion, one can not claim to know of Russian history without reading the above three authors.
If you are looking for a specific period, there might be some less intimidating books, that would give a decent picture of the times. So if, let's say, you were interested in 16th century's infamous Ivan the Terrible - you might want to read "Prince Serebrenni" by
Aleksey Tolstoy. Or if you want to know how Russia kicked Sweden's and Azov Tartar's asses under the rule of Peter the Great - you could read "Peter I" by
Aleksey Tolstoy.
It's kind of strange, but both Aleksey Tolstoys lived 100 years apart and were both great writers... And
Leo Tolstoy lived between those two other Tolstoys, and he wrote about Russia beating Napoleon's ass and marching through Paris in "War and Peace".
I can proudly say that I have read all of the above more than once, and can wholeheartedly recommend all of those books. One more "period war" related books would be
And Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov. Covers First World War and Civil War in Russia. Absolutely brilliant book, I love every line of it.
But there were many other wars
I might know a good novel on a specific war - so you are welcome to specify. Otherwise, Vasily Klyuchevsky that i have mentioned above, will cover 9th to mid 18th century very well.
