Top 10 Books: Russian Personalities

1. Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie

Necessarily large, this biography tackles Peter the Great, Russia's enigmatic and barbaric reformer. The text is fast-moving and easy to read (hugely important in anything nearly 1000 pages long!), offering a deft, detailed and wholly essential portrait of the man and his place in the world. Too large for some readers, this is an excellent insight into Peter, Russia and Europe as a whole.

2. Catherine the Great: Life and Legend by John T. Alexander

Although not as exciting or titillating as some books on Catherine, Alexander's deeply researched and myth-shattering text combines academic skill, new sources and a balanced analysis with some of the most fascinating subject matter you could wish for. Superb stuff.

3. Lenin: A Biography by Robert Service

At just under 600 pages in length, this is a modestly sized (and even more modestly priced) book considering the subject matter is Vladimir Lenin, a man whose histories can often read as mammoth hagiographies. Service's text is sound, balanced and based on post-communist documentary work, mixing Lenin's ever-present political activities with information on his personal life.

4. Stalin: Breaker of Nations by Robert Conquest

The title might sound like part of an attack, but Robert Conquest is one of the current experts on Stalin and this book explores the character of a man often simply parceled up as being 'evil'. While Stalin's seeming disregard for human life may make him an eminently hated individual, his impact on both Russia and the world was vast, and we should never forget he was a human like us.

5. Nicholas II by Dominic Lieven

You might know how the book ends but you probably haven't encountered this version of Nicholas II before, for Lieven's revisionist text presents a very different picture of the last tsar, a picture produced by skilled research and thoughtful interpretation. It isn't definitive, but 'Nicholas II' is very good.

6. Rasputin by Edvard Radzinsky

Although - or perhaps because - Rasputin is a cult figure in occult literature and disco music the truth about his life is rarely known. Radzinsky's study, which used previously hidden documents, is rather more academic, although some readers find his translation rather uneven and off-putting.

7. Ivan the Terrible by Henri Troyat

Hitting the line between thrilling reading and good history, Troyat's biography has earned many admirers; of course, the frequently dark and violent subject matter helps! Needless to say, this biography isn't for children, but it is a balanced and revealing look at Ivan, the first tsar of Russia.

8. The Image of Peter the Great in Russian History and Thought by Nicholas V. Riasa

Rather than simply examining Peter while he was alive, Riasanovsky's truly fascinating work traces the impact of the great reforming tsar across Russia's culture and politics from his life to the present day. This kind of material is often restricted to the conclusions of biographies, but Riasanovsky ably explains how Peter's effect on Russia stretched far further than the early eighteenth century.

9. Catherine the Great by Henri Troyat

The second of Troyat's biographies to make this list, his study of Catherine is entertaining to read, but still serious and analytical; indeed, praise for this book is normally directed at the author's vivid and involving narrative. Court life and the nature of Russia are described alongside the women herself, whose life-story is beyond all but the most fantastic fictions.

10. Prince of Princes by Simon Sebag Montefiore

While Grigory Potemkin isn't as famous as the other individuals in this list, he is as important and certainly as interesting, being a powerful politician, active soldier, curious eccentric and lover of Catherine the Great. 'Prince of Princes' is a compelling and universally-acclaimed biography of Potemkin's 'colourful' life.