Martin Sixsmith is a BBC journalist who has a long involvement with Russia both as a student and subsequently as a correspondent.

His book is certainly a good categorical history of Russia, ranging over the almost legendary Kievan Rus to Vladimir Putin and for the reader who has limited knowledge of Russia he certainly ranges over key personalities, dates and facts so that the uninformed reader could claim to be substantially more informed at the end of the book. As one would expect from a journalist the prose is also highly readable.

For those with an existing grounding in the topic the book will not really add to your knowledge or provide any new insights. Sixsmith largely adopts what is contemporary analysis – the alternating conservative/slavophile/strong state versus western/moderniser perspective of Russian history to explain his narrative. He really doesnt go beyond that which is a shame. By way of example he identifies Vladimir Putin as part of the autocrat tradition of Russia yet the complexity of individuals isnt really fairly assessed by a simplistic black/white good/bad analysis of individuals as being either modernisers or conservatives.