Russian Royalty

Book Categories: Tsars, Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Romanovs, Revolution, Pretenders, Religion, Faberge, Jewels, Palaces, Mongols, DVDs

Tsars

Chronicle of the Russian Tsars: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Russia by David Warnes. Includes lively biographies of all 26 tsars, timelines, family trees, and 229 illustrations, 100 in color.

Czars by James P. Duffy and Vincent L. Ricci. The history of the tsars, Russia's rulers for more than one thousand years, from the Viking Rurik to the last emperor, Nicholas II. Out of print, but available from Alibris.

Five Empresses: Court Life in Eighteenth-Century Russia by Evgenii V. Anisimov, translated by Kathleen Carol. About Catherine I, Anna Ioannovna, Anna Leopoldovna, Elizabeth, and Catherine the Great.

Terrible Tsarinas: Five Russian Women in Power by Henri Troyat, translated by Andrea Lyn Secare. From Catherine I to Catherine II.

Leaders of Russia & the Soviet Union Since 1613 edited by John Trayner and Eric Wilmot. Twenty-five essays on leaders from Michael, the first Romanov, to Vladimir Putin.

Russian Leaders: A Bibliography With Indexes edited by Alexander Dragomiroff.

Ivan the Terrible

Ivan the Terrible by Isabel de Madariaga. This biography studies Ivan's policies, his marriages, his atrocities, and his disordered personality, and links them as a coherent whole.

Ivan the Terrible by Robert Payne and Nikita Romanoff. This biography offers abundant details on the life of Ivan IV, including his violent mood swings and his callous cruelty.

The Cult of Ivan the Terrible in Stalinist Russia by Maureen Perrie. Ivan IV, although notorious for his reign of terror, became a national hero in the Soviet Union during the 1940s. This book traces the development of Ivan's positive image.

The Image of Ivan the Terrible in Russian Folklore by Maureen Perrie. Argues that Ivan was portrayed in folklore in a positive light, but this image does not necessarily reflect 16th-century views.

Ivan the Terrible by Henri Troyat. Biography of the dreaded tsar who earned his "terrible" nickname. Out of print, but available from Alibris.

Ivan the Terrible: Tsar of Death by Sean Price. Children's biography from the "Wicked History" series.

Ivan the Terrible by Don Nardo. Biography of the Russian tsar for children ages 9 to 12.

More Books About Ivan the Terrible

Pretenders and Imposters

Pretenders and Popular Monarchism in Early Modern Russia: The False Tsars of the Time of Troubles by Maureen Perrie. Covers the period between 1598 and 1613.

False Tsars by Gyula Szvak and Nicholas V. Riasanovsky. Covers all pretenders to the Russian throne from the Times of Troubles to the end of the 19th century.

Tsars and Pretenders: Boris Godunov and Russia's Time of Troubles by Daniel H. Shubin. About Russia's struggle through a period of weak rulers and civil strife. Boris Godunov governed from the shadows during the 16th century reign of mildly retarded Tsar Feodor Ivanovich and later in his own name, while false princes were put forward by rivals.

Royalty and Religion

Between God and Tsar: Religious Symbolism and the Royal Women of Muscovite Russia by Isolde Thyret. Demonstrates that the wives of the early tsars played complex roles in government, especially during times of crisis.

Muslim Resistance to the Tsar by Moshe Gammer.

A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy by Nathaniel Davis. The history of the Russian Orthodox Church since the revolution.

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Documentaries and Movies

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Russia: Land of the Tsars. Two-part documentary from The History Channel. Filmed on location in Russia and filled with commentary from scholars, this is a captivating portrait of a land that has endured centuries of innovation and conflict.

DVDs About Peter the Great
DVDs About Catherine the Great
DVDs About the Last Romanovs