The Story of Russia
Public-domain ebook
The Story of Russia
Language: en5,362 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: History - Other·History - European
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #20880.
About this book
The work is a historical survey of Russia, written by Robert Van Bergen as a concise textbook for American schoolchildren. It opens with the author’s own observation that recent events have sparked curiosity about a nation he admits little is known about in the United States, and he sets out to “place it in a condensed form” for students. The opening pages outline a detailed table of contents that spans early Norse incursions, the rise of the czars, the Mongol yoke, and the reforms of Peter the Great, through the wars of Napoleon and the turn‑of‑the‑twentieth‑century. The narrative then shifts to a geographic and climatic portrait of the empire, emphasizing its vast size, the autocratic rule of the czar, and the varied landscapes that shape Russian life.
The prose reflects an early‑twentieth‑century American perspective, with a didactic tone that blends factual description and moral commentary. Its style is formal yet accessible, aiming to inform rather than entertain, and it assumes a readership interested in comparative geopolitics and the foundations of Russian history. Students, teachers, and general readers who enjoy a structured, encyclopedic overview of a nation’s development, especially those seeking a period‑appropriate, lecture‑like account, will find this book most rewarding.
The opening · free to read
Henry Mather Lowman
AMICUS CERTUS RE INCERTA CERNITUR.
PREFACE.
Recent events have drawn the attention upon Russia, a country of which but little is known here, because the intercourse between it and the United States has been limited. In my frequent journeys to the Far East, I found it often difficult to comprehend events because, while I could not help perceiving that the impulse leading to them came from Russia, it was impossible to discover what prompted the government of the czar. I felt the necessity to study the history of Russia, and found it so fascinating, that I resolved to place it in a condensed form before the students in our schools. They must be the judges of how I have succeeded.
R. VAN BERGEN.
CONTENTS.
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