Geoffrey Hosking has been Professor of Russian History at the School of Slavonic Studies, University of London, since 1984. He is the author of the award-winning History of the Soviet Union for Fontana Press. In 1988, Professor Hosking was invited to give the annual BBC Reith lectures and spoke on the subject of ‘Change in Contemporary Soviet Society’, in doing so accurately predicting the imminent collapse of the Soviet Union.
'Hosking's book is a tour de force of historical argument, vividly written [and] courageously argumentative' Michael Ignatieff, Observer 'Brilliant...an elegantly written, humane and rigorous work of empirical history.' Michael Burleigh, Independent on Sunday 'Russia: People and Empire is the most interesting and authoritative account of Russian imperial history in English. It is a masterful synthesis, intelligent and lucid, passionately argumentative, but always fair, which should be read by everyone who wants to understand the origins of Russia's predicament today.' Orlando Figes, The Times
'Hosking's book is a tour de force of historical argument, vividly written [and] courageously argumentative' Michael Ignatieff, Observer 'Brilliant...an elegantly written, humane and rigorous work of empirical history.' Michael Burleigh, Independent on Sunday 'Russia: People and Empire is the most interesting and authoritative account of Russian imperial history in English. It is a masterful synthesis, intelligent and lucid, passionately argumentative, but always fair, which should be read by everyone who wants to understand the origins of Russia's predicament today.' Orlando Figes, The Times
Although at first blush, Hosking's book may seem like just another surey of Russian history, it is in fact much more. The well-regarded Hosking (deputy director, Univ. of London's School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies) has applied his nearly encyclopedic knowledge of Russia's past to the question of how and why the Russians never developed a sense of nation. He argues that the Russian monarchy and aristocracy were always more interested in building an expansive empire than in promoting the belief in nationhood, something understood by the powerless peasantry. The expensive and inefficient bureaucracy that emerged over the centuries weighed against any possibility of community, and in the end this tottering edifice was unable to withstand the cataclysm of World War I. Hosking has brought a powerful intellect and great erudition to this work, which is a sophisticated blend of narrative and analysis. Essential for any library that collects material in Russian and European history.‘Edward Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
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