An introduction to the key debates of Russian history. How did a small principality develop into a vast empire? Why did Russia develop political and social institutions so different from those of the West, which led the country on such a different path in the 20th century? The book relates the facts behind the reputations of tsars such as Ivan the Terrible, whose reign of terror was unparalleled in Russian history until Stalin; Peter the Great, dynamic reformer and dedicated Westernizer; Catherine the Great, the determined young German princess who usurped power and became the archetypal enlightened autocrat; and the weak-willed Nicholas II, a devotee of divine right in a period of devastating change. Here too are the less familiar but equally intriguing personalities who occupied Russia's imperial throne: the territorially-ambitious Ivan III, the warm-hearted and irascible Alexei Mikhailovich, and the reactionary Nicholas I. The book contains timelines which provide at-a-glance guides to the length and decisive events of each reign. There are genealogical trees of the Romanovs and their predecessors, and datafiles for every tsar detailing lineage, wives and children, and place and cause of death. There are over 90 sidebars and special features ranging from the building of the Moscow Kremlin to the lovers of Catherine the Great. The illustrations include portraits of every tsar and key political player, art treasures, architecture, maps and plans.