Britannica
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Introducer
Mary Dejevsky is chief editorial writer and columnist at the
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I N С V С L о тл л
т н Е Britannicб G и I D Е ТО
RUSSIA
The essential guide to the nation, its people, and culture
Introduction by Mary Dejevsky
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. www.brirannica.com
First print edition published in the UK by Robinson, an imprint of Constable ФC Robinson Ltd, 2009
Text © 2009 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Introduction © 2009 Mary Dejevsky
The right of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. and Mary Dejevsky to be identified as the authors of tins work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copy right. Designs & Patents Act, 1988.
Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
This cBook edition published by Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
ISBN 978-1-59339-850-7
No parr of this work may be produced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations and Maps vii
Introduction ix
Part 1 Context
Russia - Facts and Figures 3
The Place and the People 13
Part 2 History
Russia before and after the Revolution 33
Post-Stalin Russia to the Fall of Communism,
1953-91 82
135 143
Post-Soviet Russia 104
Part 3 Culture
The Development of the Arts in Russia
Literature
Music 173
The Visual Arts and Film 194
Theatre and Ballet 214
Part 4 Russia Today
10 Governance and the Economy 231
I I Everyday Life in Modern Russia 256
Part 5 Places
12 The Major Sites to Visit 277
Index 321
ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
illustrations
Portrait of Catherine the Great (1729-96) by Fyodor Rokotov (1735-1808). The Moscow State Tretyakov Gallery
Demonstrators gathering in front of the Winter Palace in Petro- grad in January 1917, shortly before the Russian Revolution
Soviet leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924) addressing a crowd in 1920
