Janet M. Hartley is emeritus professor of international history at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of Siberia: A History of the People.
“Meticulously researched and sympathetically written. . . .
‘Without the Volga, there would be no Russia.’ The final words of
Janet Hartley’s book sound sweeping. But its 400 pages make the
case powerfully.”—The Economist
“Well-researched and accessible to general readers. . . . Hartley
has a good eye for the significant detail.”—Tony Barber, Financial
Times, “Best Books of the Week”
“Janet Hartley’s study of the Volga, the river that symbolises
Russian identity, is a worthy companion to her 2014 book Siberia: A
History of the People. She is particularly good on the way that
Russians and non-Russians interacted in the centuries after Ivan
the Terrible’s conquest of Kazan and Astrakhan in the 1550s.”—Tony
Barber, Financial Times, “Best Books of 2021: History”
“This is a work of masterful condensation, commanding storytelling
and an invitation to marvel at the ‘gloomy grandeur’ of one of the
Earth’s oldest residents.”—Matthew Janney, Spectator
“Combines outstanding academic research with masterful and
compelling storytelling. The result is a memorable journey into the
heart of Russian social, political, and cultural history.”—Jennifer
Eremeeva, Moscow Times
“A vivid, human-centered story of the great river standing at a
crossroad of peoples and cultures. . . . Hartley’s voyage along the
serpentine river is magical and full of charm.”—Farah Abdessamad,
Asian Review of Books
“Accessible to the interested lay person as much as
thought-provoking to experts in the field of Russian and Eurasian
studies.”—Kees Boterbloem, Canadian-American Slavic Studies
“The strength of The Volga is always its rich cultural and economic
history. . . . Twenty-two illustrations, ten maps and a note on
place names complete The Volga, and make it a welcome addition to
other biographies of the world’s rivers.”—Paul Josephson, Cahiers
du Monde russe
“A splendid book. . . . This scholarly work provides not just a
vivid chronicle of the Volga and its peoples, but an original
perspective on the history of Russia as a whole.”—Maureen Perrie,
European History Quarterly
“Hartley does an excellent job of highlighting the many ethnic and
religious groups that have lived in the shadows of Russia’s
greatest river [and] creates a vivid picture of this region
throughout history, and the powerful river that has shaped so many
lives.”—Kit Gillet, Geographical, “Book of the Month”
“Hartley treats the reader to captivating stories of conflict,
conversion, trade, famine, migration and myth [and] convincingly
shows that any understanding of Russian history requires an
understanding of the Volga.”—Andy Bruno, History Today
“A lucid and well-researched book.”—Anna Reid, Literary Review
“A work of great range and erudition informed by a deep reading in
published and archival sources. As I followed along, struck
repeatedly by Hartley’s judicious attention to the river’s
ever-flowing impact on the peoples and cultures around it, I came
away impressed more than anything by the sheer scope of the story,
which matches the vastness and complexity of Russia
itself.”—Willard Sunderland, Slavonic and East European Review
“Provides not just a vivid chronicle of the Volga and its peoples,
but an original perspective on the history of Russia as a
whole.”—Maureen Perrie, European History Quarterly
“[This] impressive book on the Volga . . . will appeal to a wide
range of readers, including specialists of Russian and Eurasian
history, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and many general
readers. Containing a wealth of intriguing detail and written in
elegant and accessible language, it delivers new insights on
Russia’s greatest river.”—Stefan B. Kirmse, Europe-Asia Studies
“The Volga is an important study whose focus is the construction of
Russian territorially-contiguous colonialism and its broad impacts,
well worth the attention of both colleagues and the less specialist
reader.”—Carol B. Stevens, Slavic Review
“With clarity and commanding breadth of vision, Hartley chronicles
the life of a great river through times of shocking violence and
times of tranquillity.”—Rachel Polonsky, author of Molotov’s Magic
Lantern
“Taking a majestic sweep through centuries of turbulent history,
Hartley traces in vivid detail the significance of a river that has
served Russia’s multi-ethnic population as economic lifeline,
strategic battleground and symbol of freedom.”—Simon Dixon, author
of Catherine the Great
“An impeccably documented and comprehensive history of the Volga
region. It pays special attention to the ecological features of the
region’s territories, and to the economic, ethnic, religious and
cultural characteristics of its peoples.”—Geoffrey Hosking, Russia
and the Russians
“Engrossing. In lively prose Hartley tracks the not-always-easy
imprint of Russian power on the peoples and environments of this
vast river as it snakes through parts of the world little known to
an English-speaking audience.”—Valerie A. Kivelson, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor
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