Rodric Braithwaite

Why autocracy in Russia always fails in the end

Mark Galeotti describes the unresolved problem for all Russia’s strong rulers — how to combine modernisation with stability in a vast, sprawling empire

Ivan the Terrible at the Siege of Kazan, 1552. Credit: Alamy
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  • A Short History of Russia: From the Pagans to Putin

    Mark Galeotti

    Ebury, pp. 208, £12

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