SYNOPSIS

During the course of Russia's turbulent pre-Soviet history, only one element remained constant: the unwavering rule of the Czars. Wracked by boundary disputes, political intrigue, myriad wars and shifting centers of power, Russia was maintained throughout by a ruling elite as diverse as the lands they governed. The story of these rules, told wit clarity and style in Czars, is in many ways the story of Russia itself.

From the birth of the Kievan state in the second half of the ninth century under the Varangian Oleg to the murder of Czar Nicholas II and his family in 1918, authors Duffy and Ricci trace the long and twisted line of czarist rule in Russia, offering many insights on the uses and abuses of absolute power, as well as a glimpse at world history through the eyes of those who made it.

Key players includes:

Saint Olga, appointed regent in 945, and the first of several strong czarinas Ivan I, prince of Moscovy 1328-1341, who centralized power in Moscow Boris Godunov, Fedor II, Dmitri the Impostor, Basil IV, Dmitri and Ladislaus of Poland, the six czars who ruled, sometimes simultaneously, during the aptly named Time of Troubles, 1598-1612 Peter the Great, perhaps Russia's most progressive ruler Catherine the Great, who led a successful revolt against her husband, Czar Peter III, to become the fourth woman monarch of Russia

Seventeen portraits of czars through the ages, several historical maps, genealogical charts, a thorough bibliography and a detailed index bring the reader as close to Russia's erstwhile monarchy as one would want to get. Ideal for students, historians and general readers from serf to sovereign, Czars is a vital new page in the literature of Russian history.

ACCREDITATION

James P. Duffy is a writer and lecturer. He has been a student of Russian history for more than 35 years and has a personal library of over 2,000 volumes on Russian history, many several hundred years old. He also has an extensive collection of maps, portraits and prints of historical Russia, a few of which appear in this book. Mr. Duffy's previous books include Hitler Slept Late, and Other Blunders That Cost Him the War and Target: Hitler, The Plots to Kill Adolph Hitler, the latter written with Vincent L. Ricci.