A deeply impressive and deeply immersive book . . . The author sets out to reveal Russia's history, its people's perception of their past and the manifold ways in which those in power manipulate both events and legend to shape the present. It is a saga of multi-millennial identity politics

Spectator

To understand Putin's paranoia, read this book on Russia's history

Telegraph

A lucid chronological journey that ably illustrates how narratives from the nation's past have been used to shape its autocratic present

Observer

If you really want to understand Putin's Russia today, anchored in its past of myths, then you simply have to read Figes's superb account in The Story of Russia

Antony Beevor

Figes's book is an absorbing and enlightening read, a triumph of concision, analysis and insight

Daily Mail

Figes's book is an absorbing and enlightening read, a triumph of concision, analysis and insight

Daily Mail