Tag: Russia

Book: Boris Akunin “Remarkable People of Ancient Rus’”

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It feels like it wasn’t that long ago that I wrote about the final book in Boris Akunin’s nine-volume epic on the history of the Russian state — and yet here the author is launching a new cycle, which will apparently offer a different perspective on the same subject matter.

Not so long ago, Akunin wrote that he began the Russia-history cycle partly to understand how the country ended up in its current condition. And already by the third volume he had found his answer and continued to follow that line throughout the entire series (which is noticeable — though at times it feels as if he’s forcing the pieces to fit).

But why, then, did he start a new cycle, titled Illumination of History — and starting essentially from the same point as the previous one? In principle, the answer is already hinted at in the title of this first book: Remarkable People of Ancient Rus’. While narrating the history of the state, the author naturally highlighted the key players of that history. But he felt that he had not gone deep enough into them.

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Book: Boris Akunin “As He Was Leaving, He Asked”

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With the release of the novel As He Was Leaving, He Asked, Boris Akunin has fully completed his historical cycle, in which he simultaneously told the history of the Russian state and accompanied it with works of fiction set in the corresponding historical period.

Boris Akunin concluded the history of the Russian Empire with the reign of the last tsar of the Romanov dynasty — Nicholas II. Beyond that point, in the author’s view, it was no longer the history of an empire (though recent events show that imperial history seems unwilling to let Russia go).

The fictional cycle, as I have written many times before, is essentially the story of a completely different dynasty, one that managed to traverse the entire path from the Varangian era to the Revolution of 1917. And if in the earlier works of the cycle representatives of this dynasty played a rather prominent role — sometimes even stepping directly into the spotlight (as in the novel The Fortunate Adventures and Reflections of Lucius Catin) — then in the penultimate The Road to Kitezh it was the events of the era that came to the fore, rather than one of the heirs with the telltale birthmark on the forehead. The final novel, titled As He Was Leaving, He Asked, is likewise far less focused on the last heiress of the family in the cycle.

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Boris Akunin “Eurasian Empire. The History of the Russian State. The Era of the Empresses”

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I love Akunin’s books, including the much-criticized series The History of the Russian State. Yes, the author is often not very objective and adds much of his own perspective and worldview into the text. However, because of this, his works are often more lively and interesting to read than more scientific but dry historical books.

Now, he has finally reached the 18th century, the period after the death of Peter the Great and up until the reign of Alexander I (which will be covered in the next volume of the series). Akunin calls this period the “Era of the Empresses” because women largely dictated Russia’s development during this time. Men were also in power, but far less frequently compared to the empresses.

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Boris Akunin “Sister Pelagia”

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I really love Boris Akunin’s series about Erast Fandorin. The last few books were less interesting, but I’ve reread the early novels in the series several times. However, I had always kept the trilogy about Sister Pelagia “on the back burner.” In fact, I read the first book, Pelagia and the White Bulldog, about 6-7 years ago, but back then I had no desire to continue with the series. Now, I’ve decided to correct this, so I reread the first book and then went on to read the other two.

The most interesting part is that you can’t really say that Sister Pelagia is the main character of the series. Yes, everything revolves around her, and she’s a sort of local detective. But I’d say there are several key characters, including Pelagia, the metropolitan, and a few other residents of the town of Zavolzhsk, where the events take place.

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Boris Akunin “Asian Europeanization. The History of the Russian State. Tsar Peter Alexeyevich”

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Many people have a mixed attitude toward Boris Akunin’s History of the Russian State series, accusing him of oversimplification and highly personal interpretations. However, I still believe that the author has achieved at least one great thing—he got many readers interested in history who otherwise might not have wanted to delve into it. Take me, for example: I’m interested in history, but I can’t handle purely historical works. Akunin, with his style, usually makes such narratives engaging.

The volume Tsar Peter Alexeyevich is already the fifth book in the series, and it’s entirely dedicated to just one ruler, unlike the previous volumes.

However, this is the first volume that disappointed me more than it pleased. You’d think, with such a monumental figure like Peter the Great—arguably the most well-known tsar in Russian history—there would be plenty of material for an engaging story. With all his adventures and his breaking of traditional norms, there should be so much room for a captivating narrative.

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Boris Akunin “Not Saying Goodbye”

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So, according to the author, the long story of Erast Fandorin has come to an end. He was “buried” before, like in Black City when he was supposedly shot in the head. But now, Boris Akunin has officially declared that it’s over—no more adventures. And it’s true; fifteen full novels have been released (or more, depending on how you count).

It all started with The Winter Queen, where an enthusiastic young man was fatefully drawn into a global conspiracy. Honestly, when the Erast Fandorin craze began, I was hesitant for a long time, since I don’t like following trends. But then the movie came out, and I finally decided to read it. And I was completely hooked. I binge-read everything that was available at that point and then eagerly devoured each new book as soon as it was published.

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Book: Nick Perumov “The Empire Above All”

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I read the first novel of Nick Perumov’s The Empire Above All dilogy as soon as it was released, but had to wait for the second part. By the time it came out, I could barely remember the plot of the first book. So, I decided to reread the entire dilogy, starting from the beginning.

The events of the dilogy take place in a future roughly two centuries behind our current time. However, the people of that time are almost no different from us. The differences lie not in the people, but in their place of residence—various planets. Even in terms of technology, civilization hasn’t progressed much.

In this world, the largest power is the Empire. It controls nearly all human-inhabited planets, though there are always those who are discontented. The main character of the book, Ruslan Fateev, is Russian, hailing from the Russian planet New Crimea. The inhabitants of this planet fiercely hate the Empire and long for independence, and with that goal in mind, Ruslan joins the Imperial assault forces—to undermine the enemy from within. Naturally, everyone around him, including his beloved, considers him a traitor.

For reasons unexplained, the Empire also calls itself the Fourth Reich, with its army bearing the insignia and unit names of the infamous Third Reich. It’s hard not to hate them for that.

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